


The Precipice Of Division

by Talonticus



Series: The Talon legacy [6]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Drama, F/F, Gen, Humor, Intrigue, LGBTQ Female Character of Color, Multiple established relationships, Occasional violence, Post-class story/Pre-SoR, Romance, Somewhat canon divergent, Swearing, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2018-07-20 02:17:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 71
Words: 250,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7386703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talonticus/pseuds/Talonticus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of seven important figures in a time of renewed war in the galaxy. The tales of their lives, exploits and decisions that aid in altering the course of their factions, as different people vie for power in the shadows.</p><p>[Basically a story that alternates between different player characters and their companions.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Old wounds (SW)

**Author's Note:**

> _Yeah, more SWTOR. I feel I'm putting a bit too many stories on myself at the same time but, I guess I kind of enjoy it too._
> 
> _This is pretty much a direct sequel to "Among the faded tales" that I finished a few months ago, but it won't focus on just my Sith warrior - pretty much all my player characters, their companions and friends will have some kind of role._   
>  _In a way, it occurs at the same time as "Through passion's gateways", but when that story is finished, it will continue through this one._
> 
>   _Half of the reason for making this story is to continue showing what my other characters do in galaxy. You know, their lives, romances and the choices they make that pushes the story forward._  
>  _The other half is the "main story" itself, the alternative version of SWTOR's story that I'm making, which will eventually lead up to my version of SoR and KOTFE. It will probably take a while and not everything will be like, drama and intrigue._
> 
> _I've pretty much posted this link in every story, but I guess I might as well do it again. So[here](http://creativebankruptcy.tumblr.com/swtor) is the pictures and backstories for my characters. It'll probably come in handy in this particular fic._   
>  _I'll be updating the tags and stuff as I go along. I don't wanna fill it with too many characters yet, when they haven't even entered the story._
> 
>   _Note: This fic stars a black trans woman (Jovana - the Bounty Hunter) as one of the protagonists. I'm a white writer, so I welcome any feedback from fans of color regarding her._
> 
> _Edit 8/10 - 2016: As of today, I've changed the titles of the chapters, making it easier to see which class/character it focuses on. I just went with the typical shortenings, i.e. JK = Jedi Knight and so on. If people want to see the stuff that corresponds to specific characters, you have the opportunity for that now but for the most part, it's just so that it'll be easier for me to find when I go back and check what I've written._

Through the depths of neutral space, currently on a route further into the core of the galaxy, surges the Fury-class Imperial Interceptor known as the “Tempest”. For the moment, it is without a clear mission, but its owner is not without cause or goal. She knows that tasks await them in many parts of the known galaxy, but she remains uncertain whether or not to plunge herself into them.  
Zal’riva, or the “Emperor’s Wrath” as she is called by most who she encounters now, has not felt all too eager to participate in the war that keeps intensifying between the Empire and the Republic.  
It’s been several weeks now, since she stood before the Dark Council, defeated her old master and later on aided her beloved in having a shot against her new master – the ruler of the whole Empire. 

When she and Ktila met after that event, neither of them spoke of the outcome nor the possible repercussions of it. Why would they? No one could really say what would occur afterwards. Is the Emperor truly gone? That seems highly unlikely. Zal remembers when she freed him from Voss a few months ago, and he seemed as strong as ever then. It appears rather implausible that he could ever be defeated through physical means. Can he even be killed at all?  
Zal is assuming that’s what Ktila is searching for right now, even as they are split. In the meantime, the twi’lek is forced to continue her role as the Wrath and take care of threats to the Empire. At the very least, the Emperor has not given any further orders for her during this time. All she has to go on, is words from the Emperor’s Hands and his other dutiful servants. 

It’s hard to decide what she must do, with the kind of role she’s given. Just like with Baras, being the Wrath is just another enforcer, carrying out someone else’s will. She does not mind erasing threats to the Empire, as it is her home, but her goal remains to try to find ways to change its nature. The difficulty remains in how that can be achieved – so far, the only things she has been able to think of is standing as an example of what the Empire could be and the other is to aid her friend in the Dark Council. Valcera, or Darth Imperius, is involved with the Order of Revan who seeks the very same goal and she seems to be more adept at politically influencing other people. Zal might simply be better at inspiring through actions but it’s not always the easiest task when she’s just seen as a blunt weapon. 

She has not been alone during these weeks either, for the rest of her crew still follows along. Well, not all the time of course, as Zal knows they have other wishes and ambitions at the side of her own. Quinn still seeks to rise in the structure of the Empire, Pierce wants to get in on the action on the front and Broonmark feels much the same, on top of the fact that he wants to guide his people to follow his path. Vette and Jaesa have a united route to follow and Zal has been quite glad to see them establish something together along with Ktila’s former padawan, Kira.  
But despite the things that separate them, there’s still much which brings them together and perhaps most of all, it is that feeling of unity and maybe a sense of comradery. They’ve been working together for a while, long enough to grow close. Zal still sees them as her family, something which she hasn’t really been able to claim to have previously in her life. This is why she’s so grateful they’ve chosen not to split up from one another or from her. 

This day, all of the team is gathered on the Tempest as well, currently en route towards a neutral space station. For the time being, they just need to pick up some supplies and get in contact with the closest Imperial fleet. They could possibly return to Imperial space, but it’s unlikely that they’d be able to reach it fast enough before they run out.  
The team comes from a battle against the Republic from a few days ago. They were ambushed on the way out and has therefore not had the chance to shift back around – Quinn surmised it would be safer to head somewhere neutral and disperse themselves before turning around and heading back to find out where to go next.  
To Pierce’s slight annoyance, most of what the Tempest has seen during the war is battles where they defend or aid Imperial forces and hardly ever go for a strike on their own. Zal doesn’t seek aggression however – she’d rather be a symbol for the protection of the Empire than the assassin that she is supposed to be. That doesn’t always work as intended, however.

After a short meeting between her, Quinn and Jaesa, the three of them head out towards the bridge where Vette is sitting behind the controls, as usually. Well, it’s either her or Quinn who flies the Tempest – the only ones Zal really trusts with it.  
They’re out in hyperspace, so it’s not a lot to do at the moment, except for keeping check on the systems and sensors.  
“How are we looking, Vette?”

The shorter twi’lek give her a quick shrug as her hands stroll across the instruments but glances slightly over her shoulder.  
“Not much has changed, really. No pursuers or anything, if that’s what you were concerned about.”

“Well, it’s been a few days so it would be somewhat odd for them to suddenly pop up.” 

“Eh, I’ve seen weirder things happen.”

Jaesa smiles gently at her girlfriend and then glances up at Zal. Her master is standing in the grey coat she had custom made for her quite a while ago, while Jaesa is in some red and brown robes – the typical contrast between the two.  
“I didn’t get any notion of increased aggression from the pilots at least, master. Although, I will admit I might not have had the chance to read them completely.”

Vette smirks in amusement.  
“Well, it’d be impressive if you did, in the middle of a space battle and from that distance.”

The apprentice shrugs in return.  
“With some effort, it isn’t an impossible feat.” 

Quinn turns to gaze at Zal as well, with his arms behind his back.  
“In any case, my lord, I suggest we proceed towards the fleet by Varos Utla as I said before, after we are done resupplying. The Eleventh fleet might need our aid there during the battle.”

Hearing this, Vette slightly narrows her eyes.  
“Eh, wasn’t that one of the worlds the Empire conquered a few months back?”

“It was one of the first worlds that surrendered at the start of the war, yes. It was a rather swift victory.” 

“Yeah, I heard about that. Doesn’t seem like the nice thing to do to; you know, defend the people who conquered them.” 

The Captain frowns disapprovingly.  
“Does that matter? It is a world that now belongs to the Empire. Besides, the surrender was completed through a treaty, not with the deaths of their leaders.”

“Sure, _after_ you guys bombed their fleets and some of their cities, killing probably thousands or hundreds of thousands of their citizens. But yeah, it’s that it wasn’t the most horrifying conquest that the Empire has ever done which is important, right?”

“It is the way of the Empire, Vette. We seek to bring worlds under our rule so that they can have improved lives below our leadership, which is far superior to their own in every conceivable way.” 

Vette rolls her eyes and spreads her arms.  
“And what, you guys can’t just do that through negotiations or trade agreements or whatever? You have to literally destroy them to prove you’re right?”

“Enough.”  
Zal’s stern voice echoes through the small bridge and all three of them turns towards her.  
“For now, it does not matter how Varos Utla came into the Empire’s hands, but rather that we should end the fighting above their skies. We can all agree on that, yes?  
The discussion for who shall rule them or how, can be saved for later.” 

Neither party looks especially satisfied with that conclusion, but they have to submit to the fact that Zal is their leader and the two of them arguing probably won’t change anything.  
“Of course, my lord.”

“Whatever you say, Zal.”  
Vette turns back to her controls, but Jaesa at least seems quite satisfied that it ended. She’s never glad to see their team fight and she offers a smile for Zal and then gently rubs the pilot’s shoulder. Vette raises a hand briefly to place it on Jaesa’s.  
Before they can speak much else of their plans however, Vette reacts to a blinking light and few beeping sounds.  
“Oh uh, seems we’ve got a call coming in. Can’t trace the frequency but it’s obviously someone who knows how to get to us precisely.”

With interest, Zal nods sharply and strides out of the bridge.  
“Relay it to our central holoprojector.”

“Alright!”

Quinn and Jaesa follows her out as they stop by the device and Zal pushes a few buttons to initiate the conversation. Two familiar figures form above it, making her dip her head into a faint bow out of respect.  
“Servant One, Servant Two – an honor to see you once more. We had not heard from you for a couple of weeks.”  
Jaesa and Quinn stands silently behind her.

Servant One, as always, is the one to speak first and foremost.  
“The Emperor has kept us busy for the time being, but he was confident that you could act out of your own accord to deliver his will across the galaxy, as you should.” 

They seem unaware or at least does not show anything of what Zal knows of the Emperor’s fate. Then again, she doesn’t even know everything that transpired on Dromund Kaas that day.  
“Of course, I have done my best to let the name of the Emperor’s Wrath be respected among the Empire and our foes.” 

“Naturally, and no one would expect differently. The Emperor prefers to let his Wrath have some autonomy.  
However, at times, he also demands some of the threats to the Empire to be taken care of, or eliminated entirely. We have found such a target for you.” 

The way they speak of it, simply aids with the fact that it may be their will and not the Emperor’s.  
“Speak of them and I shall see to it that his Wrath descends upon them.” 

“Very good.  
On the world of Ilagaros in the Viantakos system, there is currently a battle being fought between the Republic and the Empire. The battle in the skies has mostly been won already, but the war on the ground proceeds. The world has been seen as important for resources and so destroying the surface is not an option – therefore, the retreating Republic forces have hidden among the vast swamps of that world and destroy Imperial transports and military convoys through guerilla tactics.  
Through meditation and searching though the Force, we have found the reason that they persist.” 

Servant Two speaks up in between these words.  
“The light shines bright still upon those who struggle, keeping the shadows at bay.”

Zal arches an eyebrow, never being completely sure what the second really means.  
“…a Jedi?”

Servant One nods in acknowledgement.  
“Precisely. A Jedi Master, from our best guess, though we do not have a name. This person will and fortitude is keeping the Republic fighters standing, although there might also be some tactical advantage involved.”

She folds her arms, looking at them somewhat skeptically.  
“The Emperor really wants me to destroy just one Jedi? And not even on a world where they’re winning?” 

“This Jedi is dangerous and if he persists, they may well be able to last long enough to turn the fight around, if they gain reinforcements.  
I can add that resources are not the only reason that Ilagaros must be won, but I can say no more. Eliminate the threat of this Jedi, Wrath, and the Emperor shall be pleased.” 

Zal is now very curious what it is that this Jedi might have. Do they know something of the Emperor? Or perhaps the world itself is important.  
She bows at them faintly once more.  
“Very well, the Emperor’s will shall be done.”

“Contact us when the deed has been done.” 

The conversation ends and Zal frowns slightly, looking away with a thoughtful gaze. She hears Jaesa speaking up behind her.  
“That sounds…odd.” 

“Aye, it does.” 

Quinn glances between the two and then shrugs.  
“It is the Emperor’s decision though, is it not? We must carry out his orders.” 

Zal doesn’t add anything further to this and simply leaves the room in silence. 

\-----

Wrath’s team descends upon the swamps of Ilagaros, joining in with some imperial forces on the world. The Emperor’s Hand gave them enough information to know what area they must search and with some time and effort, they launch themselves in among the wilds, locating camps and dismantling them. On Jaesa’s request, they try to minimizes Republic losses as much as possible, while taking prisoners instead. Even though they’re trying to take the enemy down, it doesn’t have to turn into a massacre and Zal is more than capable of handling most attacks they throw against her.

Oddly enough, it isn’t until they reach a certain parts of the swamp that they finally manage to sense the presence of the Jedi within it. The hunt begins for the two Sith, while Zal leaves Quinn and Pierce in charge of the imperial forces, along with Broonmark should they need him. Vette is still in the ship and stays back in case aerial support is needed.  
The soldiers act partially as distractions, while they systematically try to break down as much of the defenses here as possible. The Republic forces are smart though, pulling back when needed and having traps set up on specific locations that lead to a few imperial deaths. That’s when Zal decides it’s best not to call for any more backup from the ground. They know now where their target is anyhow.

The two women eventually end up at the edge of a cave system, feeling the presence here stronger than ever. They’ve both retracted their lightsabers, trying not to bring too much attention to themselves, as night has arrived upon this world and a light rain washes over them.  
Jaesa peers sideways at Zal.  
“Master…you are as suspicious as I am about this assault, yes?” 

Even though Jaesa wouldn’t use her ability on Zal, there’s still no point in hiding her feelings. Their bond is strong enough that Jaesa can sense it without trying much.  
“Aye, there is certainly something odd with us chasing down a Republic force that’s nothing more than a ragtag group of rebels. Either this Jedi is very powerful or has the potential to be.”

“Or maybe they know something of the Emperor?”

Zal remains silent for a few moments, before shrugging.  
“Perhaps. Either way, they’ve been running and all we can do is chase them down to get the answers.”

Jaesa nods briefly.  
“Do you think…that we’ll have to kill them?” 

Turning to her apprentice, she finally meet’s Jaesa’s eyes.  
“I’m not sure. We can try to settle this peacefully, but be ready for anything.”

She can sense how Jaesa feels somewhat relieved to hear it just before they descend into the darkness. They choose not to light anything, letting their other senses take them forward instead. Zal occasionally feels the wall to investigate how they’re moving and also tries to tug at that sensation of the nearby presence. Or is it two? Now it’s hard to discern, really.  
Eventually, the two of them end up in what appears to be a larger cave room, something that they just barely notice when their eyes have mostly adjusted to the dark. They can’t see how far it goes, but it’s clear that it’s opened up now. 

As they can’t be sure exactly where the Jedi is, Zal decides to act first and ignites her weapon.  
“Show yourself, Jedi! We know you’re here, and it is futile to run any further.” 

The two wait for several moments, until Zal feels a movement to the side and another being launches itself at her. She’s swifter than expected however and easily blocks the lightsaber strike which comes at her. She tries to deflect the next one and then grab the arm of her attacker and throw them to the side. She can feel now that it’s quite a large and strong person, but not enough to slow her down much.  
That’s when another being comes in from behind her, but Jaesa is there just in time to parry that strike.  
“Wait! We’re not here to fight!”

“I’m surprised to hear you say that, after all the two of you have done.”

Jaesa widens her eyes and Zal scowls slightly, as they realize how familiar the voice is. In the light of their weapons, the two others pull off their hoods and show their faces.  
“M-master Yonlach?!”

Zal’s eyes narrow when she looks upon the younger man. It appears he’s grown a thicker beard than last time.  
“And Yul-li. Well now, this is quite a surprise.” 

Yonlach appears to have grown a beard as well, although not quite as thick. Zal senses the conflicting emotions in Jaesa, and she feels rather uncertain about this as well.  
“It shouldn’t be, Sith, for it never was for me. I always knew we were meant to face each other once more.” 

The hold on her lightsaber loosens somewhat, but Jaesa still tries to stay strong.  
“Master, I…I don’t understand why you’re here. You had retreated from war and combat, away from the Republic. Why would you come here?” 

Both Yonlach and Yul-li keeps their distance for now, but hold their weapons in hand still.  
“Have you not felt it, child? The bond we shared when we connected was broken, the closer you grew to your current master.”  
Jaesa doesn’t respond, but she knows he’s right. The two haven’t been able to sense each other for quite some time.  
“I know what happened though, as I witnessed your submission to this Sith and joining the Empire.”

Still no response from the apprentice but Zal frowns in his direction.  
“That doesn’t give us a reason why you’ve gone back to fighting.”

“Should it not be obvious? It was a sign to me, an ill omen for the Republic, that one of our most talented young Jedi joined the enemy that wishes to break us apart. When the war broke out, I had to rejoin the effort to help save as many people as I could and aid in stopping the Empire. Little remains of my life, but what does shall be sacrificed for the Republic.” 

The silence stirs around them as Yul-li circles the two women, but the old master remains in place. Zal peers briefly between the pair.  
“Then you must know why I’m here.”

“The Order informed me that you were chosen as the Emperor’s Wrath. Though you’ve shown mercy, you are also known for your brutal efforts in combat, so I was not all too shocked at the revelation.” 

A fair enough analysis, really. Zal rarely relents when she’s fighting.  
“The Emperor has deemed you a threat, Yonlach, although I cannot see why. You and your Knight here may be what holds the Republic intact on this world, but should be of little consequence.” 

Yonlach seems to think those words over for a little while.  
“It is fascinating, for sure, but I have no answer for you.”

“You’re lying. There must be something you know, which sent us here. I’ve defeated you before and I know plenty of others who could best you as well.” 

The old Jedi snorts as he shakes his head.  
“Overconfident as always, Wrath. I have trained many Jedi who stand against the Empire. Perhaps your master simply recognizes this.”

Before she manages to respond, Jaesa intervenes.  
“He’s…telling the truth, master. I can sense no falsehoods in his words, at the very least.”

“Of course you can’t, child, for I am telling you the truth.” 

Zal’s frown deepens now. What is it that’s going on here then? Perhaps Yonlach doesn’t really understand the importance himself – or maybe the Hands have chosen to test her somehow. Both are plausible explanations.  
“Very well, if that is the truth, then I shall take it for what it is. But we do not have to fight, Yonlach – stand down and I will show mercy. Leave your post and this world behind; go to Coruscant or Tython, hide away for a while. Perhaps you should go back to training students, I don’t know, but you might no longer be deemed a threat at that point. Surely, it is better than the alternative.” 

Yonlach seems a bit tired, and perhaps disappointed as well when he shakes his head.  
“Did you not listen, Sith? I have chosen this path as my last, and I will not step back from it. I cannot simply leave the brave men and women of the Republic behind on this world – they are depending on me and Yul-li to fight and struggle by their sides. I would rather die than break their spirits.” 

“You’re a fool, Jedi. Surely you realize that it will mean their deaths as well, if you perish?”

“That is a risk I’m willing to take.” 

Jaesa feels hesitant still, but doesn’t want this to break out into a fight. Having to kill her old master would not be something she’d wish to endure.  
“Master Yonlach, surely…surely there must be some other way that we can resolve this.”

His eyes shift over to Jaesa and he nods curtly.  
“Of course, you could always surrender yourselves to the Republic. We would treat you much more fairly than the Empire would treat us as prisoners.”

The twi’lek rolls her eyes, feeling the act of offering it is ridiculous in itself.  
“Don’t be stupid, you know we can’t and won’t.”

“There is always a choice, Wrath.” 

“Is that so? Then surely we could extend the same offer to you, old man.” 

None of their weapons have retracted as of yet and the tension is thick between them.  
“And you know that I must give you the same answer.”

“Typical.”

“You and I are both aware of how prisoners are treated by the Empire, Wrath. And I will not surrender now, when we’ve been holding out for so long.” 

Zal spreads her arms and gives him a doubtful look.  
“What does matter if it’s all for nothing in the end? With our strategies, we easily tore through several of your defenses.”

“Did you now? Or perhaps it was merely decoys, meant to distract you and bring you away from the majority of the Republic forces.”

“And that is a foolish move on its own, Yonlach. When you fall, so does the last hope for the Republic forces on this world as well.” 

“You underestimate the devotion and skill of Republic soldiers, Wrath. They’ve lasted for this long and they will be able to continue even should I perish, until reinforcements arrive. We fight to protect the galaxy from the destruction your Empire causes. We shall not give in so easily, something which I’m sure you cannot comprehend.” 

Hearing his words makes Jaesa feel very disappointed, but Zal places a hand on her shoulder, hoping she doesn’t despair. She stays strong for the time being.  
“This could’ve ended without violence, master…”

Once more, he looks back at Jaesa and there’s a small bit of regret in his eyes.  
“You should’ve expected this, Jaesa, when you chose the Empire. Everything ends in violence and death when their kind roams the galaxy.”

The apprentice shakes her head then and regains some of her determination.  
“You’re wrong, it doesn’t always have to turn this way. Me and master Zal are trying to bring a change into the Empire, to make it evolve.”

He arches a skeptical eyebrow in her direction.  
“Change? There is no changing the Empire, child. Every incarnation of the Sith’s society have always ended up the same way and none have ever succeeded in making it step in a different direction.”

Frustration builds up within Jaesa and she lets out a deep sigh.  
“Stop calling me child! I’m not some naïve and blinded girl! We can bring change and we will!”  
She reaches up a hand quickly in Zal’s direction.  
“Just look upon the Emperor’s Wrath; she’s a non-human, having been chosen for her strength, determination and power. That is a first step and it’s a pretty major one for a society that have enslaved her kind for centuries!”

Yonlach eyes Zal for a moment, but he doesn’t look all too impressed.  
“Perhaps, but she is still the Emperor’s tool, is she not? The Empire shall always be what its master decrees.” 

Zal quickly pushes in a few words of her own here then.  
“And you claim the Republic is any better? Your society is filled with corruption and a crippling bureaucracy. Any changes you want to bring is hindered by a hive of chaotic opinions.”

“But at least, they remain free to do so. Can you say the same, ‘Wrath’?”

An argument she’s heard many times before from Republic representatives and Jedi. There is some merit to it, but not as profoundly as they believe, at least in her opinion.  
“Freedom is more than whether you are shackled to a master or not. I’ve read and heard the Jedi Code, you know. To me, it sounds just as binding as any shock collar would.” 

Both of the Jedi look rather unimpressed with her reasoning, but of course they would.  
“Surely you can see the irrationality of such a comparison. Our code is not flawless, but it is a path to enlightenment.”

Zal steps to the side and lets out a short and mocking laughter.  
“By stripping you of everything you are? How would that enlighten anyone, Jedi? And what would be the purpose of doing so if you do not remain the person you once were?” 

Yul-li scowls in her direction and grasps his weapon harder.  
“Do not mock our ways! We become better people by following the code.”

“The Sith have a code as well, but I do not adhere to it blindly. It is a philosophy, not laws.” 

Yonlach tilts his head and narrows his eyes.  
“And yet you remain tied as well, do you not? The Sith Code may mean little to you, but as the Emperor’s Wrath, you are still tied to their ways and remain nothing more than a pawn.” 

“Did you not listen when Jaesa spoke, old man? We are in it to change it. Remaining on the outside of the Empire and trying to break it apart will never bring about anything other than more destruction on both sides. Only those who fight for it, could ever find routes to alter it.” 

“And killing me is the path to revolution? It sounds like just more of the same, does it not?”

Zal actually appears a bit amused now when she arches her eyebrow.  
“I thought old men were supposed to be wise. Change does not come quickly, Jedi, even you should know that. For the time being, we must remove what threatens its existence.”  
She reaches out with her free hand.  
“But I already told you, there is no need for you to die. Surrender, and we can settle this peacefully. I can see to it that your remaining troops are sent away as well. As the Emperor’s Wrath, I have that authority.” 

Yonlach closes his eyes and seems to contemplate what has been discussed, perhaps seeing some sense in what they’re saying. Yul-li looks a bit nervous about what he’ll decide, but eventually his body straightens somewhat.  
“I wish it could be so easy, Wrath. I understand that you both believe in the Empire, but history has proven you both wrong. I want to believe in your words and the devotion you’re putting in your cause…but I cannot find the same faith in this path.  
I am sorry, I must refuse.” 

While Yonlach sticks to his principles of not striking first, Yul-li seems to be just as eager as before.  
“Then let us end this!”  
He launches himself towards Zal’s side, but he’s halted by another blade – the dual-edged one of Jaesa as she parries him. Some of his resolve falter; they’ve trained and worked under the same master before and it is not the woman he wishes to fight.  
“Jaesa, why…why are you doing this? You don’t have to fight by this Sith’s side. You can still come back to us instead, and rejoin the Republic.”

The apprentice’s eyes rise to show the Knight her determination with a faint scowl.  
“You misunderstand, Yul-li. I do not wish to avoid violence because I care for the Republic – I simply believe in this path I’ve chosen. I believe in master Zal’riva and I trust her completely, just as you trust in master Yonlach. She is wiser than you’ll ever know and I will follow whatever decision she makes.” 

The two masters can sense the uncertainty in the two pupils, but Jaesa gathers her emotions for this fight and pushes Yul-li back.  
As it happens, Zal spins the blade in her hand and the purple almost seems to intensify as she and Yonlach starts to circle each other.  
“We chose a path of peace last time, Wrath, but it appears fate deemed that unworthy of us. It is unfortunate, but-“

Zal frowns at him and spits on the ground.  
“Don’t bring fate into this, you coward! You’re avoiding the truth – we have both chosen this outcome by sticking to our beliefs. There were exits we could’ve taken, but we both saw them as implausible. Settling it with our blades is the only solution we can both agree to.” 

Yonlach turns somewhat more somber and he nods slowly.  
“Perhaps you’re right. Peace…might never have been an option for us, I suppose.”

“Peace is a lie, is it not?”  
She slams a foot into the ground, as a red aura grows around her and she lets out a battle-shout when she charges into battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _With this chapter, I sort of wanted to show that not everything goes the way Zal wants or hopes, and sometimes she just has to deal with those decisions. And also Jaesa's determination and devotion to what she believes in._


	2. How the coin flips (JK)

While the ship “Shielded Path” usually remains a quiet and serene place for the crew on board, sometimes it’s lit up by some friendly activity among them. Not everyone gets involved, obviously, as they have a wide array of personalities, but the few who do, manage to enjoy themselves quite a lot.  
In one of the rooms made to hold different items for entertainment and relaxation, three people are currently sit and focuses on one of those particular games. It’s just two women playing, but a man sits on the side-lines, watching how the match goes down. He might get a chance to play against whomever comes out as the victor.

A slight beeping noise is heard and Kira slaps the side of the table as the numbers come out against her once more.  
“Oh, this is so not fair! This damn board must be rigged or something!”

Ktila looks fairly amused and leans back in her seat, folding her arms over her chest. Both of them are sitting in rather loose and comfortable clothing, as they don’t have anything important to perform this day.  
“You know it isn’t, Kira. You’ve asked T7 to check it twice in the past few weeks, and I doubt anyone has changed it since.”

“Yeah, maybe…unless he altered it to work in your favor!”

Ktila shakes her head in doubt.  
“Now who’s not being fair, huh? You know that he would never cheat. He’s always programmed to be honest.”

Kira rolls her eyes and mutters.  
“Most of the time…”

“Well, you want to stop here then?”

It appears she is not done, as Kira lifts her head up, snaps her fingers and points at her master.  
“Are you kidding? I’m not giving up that easily! You haven’t won every round yet and I am going to turn this match around!”

At the side, they hear how Doctor Archiban Frodrick Kimble, or simply “Doc”, sighs faintly and speaks with a rather sarcastic tone.  
“You mean like the last two matches?”

Kira turns her eyes to him sharply and frowns.  
“Shut up, ‘Archiban’. You’ll see, I’m going to win this one!”

Doc lifts his hands, showing he won’t argue, while Ktila places a hand over her own mouth to stop any laughter.  
“Well then, let’s continue.”

As she starts the next round, Kira peers up at Ktila while they let the machine work the cards.  
“How did you get so good at pazaak anyway? You’ve never talked about learning it anywhere.”

Obviously, Kira thought this would be an easy game against Ktila, as she rarely sees her young master play it. She was very wrong. Ktila gives her a mysterious smile and shrugs.  
“Here and there.”

Kira narrows her eyes as she watches what card she’s given and lets it move back to Ktila’s turn.  
“Yeah, that’s not vague or anything.”

Ktila doesn’t do anything either and it goes back to Kira.  
“I don’t know what to tell you, though. I don’t have any secret master who sat down and told me the best tactics for pazaak. I played some back on Corellia with a few different people I knew back there and occasionally on Tython.”

“What? They let you gamble there? I was never allowed that…”

Ktila smiles faintly and shakes her head.  
“No, of course not. It was just for fun. Well, not every master thought so, obviously, but some considered it a good way to teach us about how people think and what strategies to use against others. My masters at Corellia certainly was of that mind and I tended to agree.”

The turn goes back to Ktila and they’re getting close to the end of the round from the looks of their numbers. Kira listens with quite a bit of interest.  
“Why have we never played this before, then?”

There’s no good answer, so Ktila shrugs once more.  
“I suppose there just wasn’t any time. After all we’ve been through, I never thought I’d get the chance to play pazaak during all those events.”

“Fair enough, I suppose.”  
Kira watches her cards as it’s her turn and puts one out which make her land on 19. She looks fairly satisfied when she let it stand there, especially as Ktila lands on 23 at her round. Suddenly though, she pulls out a -3 card and gets her back to 20, giving her the victory.  
Kira opens her mouth and widens her eyes.  
“What?! How long were you sitting on that?! I’m telling you, this is rigged!”

Ktila starts snickering this time and shakes her head briefly.  
“If possible, always let your opponent act and end first. Something to always keep in mind.”

Kira frowns and then plants her head right down on the table, upon her arms. Doc smirks slightly to himself and then gives Kira’s shoulder a few sympathetic pats.  
“It’s not going very well for you, Carsen. If you want, I could always help out a little bit. Seems you might need it.” 

He isn’t met by any sign of agreement, which was perhaps expected, as Kira gazes up to glare at him.  
“No, stay out of this! I can’t let her beat me, and it would just be worse if I got someone to help me do it!”  
She turns back to face Ktila’s wry smile.  
“And don’t look so smug, Vivees; you are going down at some point. Next round will be mine, I swear!”

The little prodding with the name amuses Ktila, but doesn’t really get to her. Kira likes to tease her, but it’s rather difficult to get her worked up, especially when it comes to the one close to her heart. In fact, she quite enjoys being put together with the Sith in people’s minds.  
Before they manage to continue however, they hear how the intercom beeps and then Sergeant Fideltin Rusk’s voice coming from it.  
“Master Jedi, there’s an incoming message for you – Grand Master Shan would like a word, apparently.”

Doc and Kira both see how her demeanor suddenly changes – she turns from the relaxed and happy woman, to someone more somber and troubled. All of them know what it means when they’re called like this, with the war going on around the galaxy. It’s never particularly welcoming news, except perhaps for Rusk.  
“Yes, of course, I’m on my way.”  
She gives Kira a slightly guilty gaze.  
“Sorry, we’ll have to finish this another time, I think.” 

Kira raises a hand, as to dismiss any idea of an apology.  
“Of course, master, no need to explain. I’m here, if you wish to discuss your conversation later on.” 

They watch Ktila nodding curtly and then heading up the stairs to the holoprojector room in silence. 

\----

Several minutes later when Ktila exits the room she was in, some of her crew has gone back to their own assignments, but Scourge stands close to the stairway, leaning back against it, and Kira is just outside the door. She was to wait elsewhere, of course, but didn’t feel like it’d do a whole lot for them.  
Ktila’s eyes are far away when they see her, probably considering what must be done.  
“Did the conversation go well, master?”

Through time, Kira has slowly stopped using that term when they’re in more comfortable environments, but gradually goes back to it whenever there’s a mission involved. It’s just something about the seriousness of it; quite different from how Jaesa and Zal’riva operates, where it’s something endearing.  
Ktila seems to snap back to reality when she hears Kira’s voice.  
“Yeah, I was given information about the situation. We’re to get involved with a strike team that will assault an imperial-controlled city on a Mid Rim world. They hope that the assault can lead to a useful liberation effort.”

All three of them are aware of how they feel about striking against the Empire. It has its difficulties and its necessities – on one side, the Empire conquers worlds and performs what the Republic would deem as atrocities and on the other, they’re aware of the effort that their friends on the other side are trying to do to change things. Most of the Republic doesn’t know or doesn’t care about those goals however. To them, the Empire must fall, it’s as simple as that.  
Kira takes a few steps closer and fiddles a bit with her hands. She wants to reach out physically, but doesn’t know how much good it’ll do.  
“Well, that’s something kinda good, right? I doubt that world just gave in willingly to the Empire.” 

Ktila peers away again and then shrugs.  
“According to our information, the leaders signed a treaty willingly that sent them over to the Empire’s side. Some parts of the civilian population are rebelling against such actions, however.”

They’ve certainly heard that scenario before and Kira folds her arms while frowning.  
“So it’s basically Corellia all over again, huh? I doubt the Empire was very kind in the terms of the treaty.”

Even so, Ktila appears unsure.  
“I don’t know, Kira. Not all of the population is rebelling – just some who disagree.”

“Yeah, that’s not strange. Not everyone wants to fight and die, but those who believe in justice and freedom obviously do.” 

Ktila doesn’t have an immediate response. She does believe in the Republic’s cause, but certain parts of what they do is not as reasonable in her mind.  
That’s when they hear Scourge’s voice from the side.  
“The justice and freedom in the minds of the Republic, you mean. Anyone who disagrees, are enemies.” 

And here they go again – Kira and Scourge almost never agree with one another, and often butt heads for that reason.  
“What, are you actually going to tell me that the Empire provides that kind of garbage now? Give me a break.”

“Not in the corruptive and decaying manners of the Republic, no, but the ways of the Empire is still one of strength and wisdom. The people and worlds conquered grow stronger with their leadership. That is why the Republic would’ve lost the last war.” 

Kira frowns towards his direction now.  
“There was no loss! A treaty was made, nothing else! Without it, you guys would’ve been nothing but dust!”

The pureblood rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.  
“Your delusions can be amusing, Jedi, but perhaps you’ve listened too much to Republic propaganda.”

“I don’t care! Whatever happened in the last war, it doesn’t disprove the fact that the Empire leads through cruelty and injustice. I’ve lived in the Sith Academy, Scourge, and I’ve seen what kind of crap all those people have to go through. It’s horrible and I don’t want that for anyone else.” 

Scourge considers it and steps away from the wall.  
“You went through it as a child of the Emperor, which is a very different procedure from many other Sith. I won’t deny that the Empire’s ways are harsh, but it is fair – the strong excel and the weak serve.”

“How is that fair?! The strong should protect the weak, not step on them like some kind of insects!” 

“The cruelty you’re imagining doesn’t exist all over the Empire and much of it stemmed from the Emperor. The Empire will change for the better after he is completely gone, and it will be far beyond whatever foolish ways the Republic could ever produce.” 

Kira shakes her head and snorts derisively.  
“Why are you even here then, huh? The Emperor is defeated and master Ktila follows the path of the Republic, and has always done. Nothing will change that, and if you don’t agree with us, you can fuck off.”

Scourge almost looks amused at her response, but gazes at Ktila instead. The chiss doesn’t seem to fully consider their argument, or at least isn’t sure where to interrupt them. Perhaps she can see both of their sides, in a way.  
“We still don’t fully know the fate of the Emperor, but are you so certain that your master is who you believe?”

Kira gives Ktila a quick glance as well, but soon returns to glare at Scourge.  
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s interesting, isn’t it? One day, she is fighting to destroy the Empire with all her might and then the next, she heads over there and warms the bed for one of the mightiest Sith. It’s a peculiar standard, and not quite the diehard Republic hero you’re telling me about.” 

“H-how dare you speak that way about her?!”

They both senses the anger in Kira and her hand now moves towards her lightsaber, but halts before she can ignite it, when they hear Ktila’s voice.  
“Stop this, both of you! I’ve had enough of you arguing about this and it won’t lead anywhere.”  
Ktila looks very troubled and she shuts her eyes.  
"Get back to your quarters, right away. We won’t be discussing this matter anymore for today.” 

They appear to disagree with her, but won’t question her orders. For now, they lower their guards and leave, but their emotions are still fully displayed for Ktila. She lifts her hands to rub them over her forehead, as she wishes that Zal was here. Right now, she’d just want to rest in those arms.


	3. Into touch (IA + BH)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This chapter features two of my characters - my Bounty Hunter, the female human Jovana Vlasic and my Imperial Agent, the female human Cierah Draconius. Both of their pre-class story backgrounds are available in that link from the first chapter._   
>  _Both of these have been featured in several of the other stories I've written, usually in secondary roles, but I did finish one fic about them recently called "Molding chromed turmoil". It's semi-long though, so I understand if you don't want to get into it._
> 
> _I don't usually like to assign the in-game alignments to my characters, because it doesn't really describe them and their morality enough. But for the sake of giving some context, I thought I'd at least try._   
>  _I suppose I can say that Cierah is a Dark-aligned (Dark 1 or 2, sort of) IA and a diehard imperial. She loves her home and the people in it, but throughout the IA storyline, she lost faith in some of the acts of the Empire as well as the Sith. This mostly is because of how they treated her and Intelligence, which is why she chose to go freelance afterwards._
> 
> _Despite the fact that Jovana chose not to kill Chancellor Janarus, she is still neutral-aligned. She does like violence, credits and a good challenge, but she's more and more sought herself closer to the honor that many mandalorians talks about. She finds it an intriguing concept and perhaps will bring her more than just the gun-for-hire she's been for ages._

Another galactic war. Pretty inevitable, wasn’t it? Jovana can’t say that she was certain there’d be one, nor that she’d get to experience the time of such a vast amount of fighting, but some parts of her always wanted it. During such an event, there’s never a lack of bounties nor a lack of challenging fights. Now that it’s here though, she wonders if perhaps she isn’t, nor ever was, ready for it. And this isn’t just about it being too much chaos to really get any sort of proper glory out of all this fighting; it’s perhaps more about that she was never ready for all the twists and turns her life would take. 

Years ago, she could never have assumed that she’d win the Great Hunt, because she didn’t even know that it existed. It would’ve been impossible for her to consider that she’d become mandalorian, or that she’d temporarily be the most wanted criminal by the Republic. She’d have laughed at the thought of being hired to kill the Supreme Chancellor and that she’d actually end up betraying her Sith employer to kill him instead – all for the sake of honor and principles. Who has she become? Was this always the path for her or has she fallen into some bizarre torrent in the fate of the galaxy? 

It probably doesn’t matter, really and it’s way too much for her to think about. All she can rely on at this point is herself and her closest companions. Well, maybe the mandalorians have taken a step into that ring of trust now too. After all, she is one of them now, even if she’s not had much time to get properly acquainted.  
What worries her most of all though, is the reaction from both the Empire and the Republic. It’s only gone a short time since she helped to preserve the life of Chancellor Janarus and while she wouldn’t mind stepping back into the good graces of the Empire, it’s not certain if they’ll agree. After all, she did kill a Sith and one with a lot of power and influence as well. Not a Dark Councilor, sure, but is that relevant? She doubts the Sith feels at ease with a woman who’s capable of killing powerful individuals like Darth Tormen. 

This is why she’s currently avoiding contact with the Empire, and after all the madness with the Republic, there’s no real point in trying to suck up to them now. No, she’s better off just staying out of all that, for the time being.  
Currently, they’re docked by a space station in an Outer Rim world, one of those which hasn’t been caught in the war, probably thanks to its tactical insignificance. They’ve not actually been chasing any bounties so far, but with all the credits they’ve got loaded up, they don’t need to either. 

Jovana leaves her own cabin this day, and heads over towards the bridge. While they’ve stayed here for a few days to let things cool down, she doesn’t like the idea of being in one place for too long. Best to change system and destroy any traces of her appearance here. As she walks along the short path on the upper level, she can already hear some commotion in the ship, raised voices and some arguments.

“Hey! C’mere you little runt! Gimme that damn box or I’ll tear your arm off while I take it from you!” 

“No, it’s not yours! You took it away unfairly!”

“I don’t care what you have to say, just hand it over already!”

As she hears it, she can’t really just ignore what’s happening and therefore heads over to the railing, grabs it and frowns down at those below.  
“Skadge, stop messing with Blizz.” 

The big houk stops chasing Blizz and peers right up to meet her gaze. He certainly doesn’t look pleased.  
“Messin’ with him? He’s stolen my damn equipment!”

She can’t see Blizz, but he can be heard hiding behind some of the crates further away.  
“He stole it first! Stole it planetside from a trader!”

Jov arches an eyebrow, wondering what it’s all about.  
“What is it that you’ve stolen now?”

Skadge waves dismissively.  
“I didn’t steal anything! I made a bet with a guy two days ago, with the prize being credits. He didn’t pay up all that he owed, so I took what I needed from his stuff. It’s fair and square! Shouldn’t go gambling if you aren’t ready to pay the price.”

She can’t really argue with that reasoning, but also doesn’t like that he makes a mess when she wants to lay low.  
“Right, but what is it you took?” 

It’s Blizz who speaks now.  
“Portable holoprojectors, quite expensive too!”

Skadge frowns and snorts.  
“It was just some entertainment models. Thought it’d be fun to have something to do while I’m here and then sell ‘em on the next place we go. But this little piece of shit took them! And when I get ‘im, he’s gonna regret ever crossing me.”

Rolling her eyes, Jov leaps across the railing and down to the lower floor. She sees how Skadge is closing in on Blizz’s location, who again tries to slip past him by running around different obstacles placed in the area. It’s not all too cleaned up down here and perhaps it’s something they should get onto, rather than playing around.  
She places both hands at her hips and sighs.  
“Alright, this ends now. Blizz, give me the box.”

While they don’t stop running around, Blizz does get closer towards Jovana and tries to use her as an obstacle instead. At least Skadge wouldn’t try to run her down, and instead simply stands there glaring at her.  
“But boss! He stole box, when not part of deal! Not fair!”

“Isn’t it, though? Whatever happened, that guy made a bet. Isn’t it more unfair to not stick to a deal you’ve made? Shouldn’t bet if you don’t have the cash to back it up.”

Blizz holds the box in his hands, seemingly contemplating what she says and whether or not he agrees.  
“He was mean too. Gave man big punch in the face!”

Jov sighs even deeper this time as she peers at Skadge.  
“Dammit, can’t we come to just one world where you don’t crush someone’s face?”

Skadge spreads his arms defensively, not seeing the problem.  
“Hey, he wouldn’t get out of my fucking way! What was I supposed to do, just let it be? He owed me and I had to go in there and take what was mine. He’s lucky I didn’t take more than I needed.”

“No, you’re lucky that you didn’t, or else we’d probably have authorities or some other shit after us right now and I don’t take kindly to always being in trouble because of my crew, Skadge.”

His gaze suddenly turns even more serious, showing how the anger from Blizz turns towards her.  
“Hope that’s not a threat.” 

She takes a few steps forward, placing a hand on a blaster by her belt.  
“It sure as hell will be, if you fuck things up for us. In case you hadn’t noticed, Skadge, the Blood Fist is _my ship_ , and on it, _my rules_ apply. I’m not part of the Black Sun and we’re not a crime syndicate; we’re bounty hunters. Mess shit up too much for me, and you’ll meet the same fate that both Jedi and Sith have met. Not sure you’ll prove as much of a challenge, though.”

Their eyes are locked into one another’s through a fierce contest of wills, even though she’s quite a bit shorter than him. They’re part of the same crew, sure, but she knows how to handle people like him. She’s met his type before and while they’ve been together for a while, it never hurts to show who’s in charge.  
Instead of fighting it, Skadge does show her respect by taking a step back and folding his arms. He calms down and that’s what she needs.  
“Alright, fine…you win. But that box still belongs to me, and not this little pest.”

Jov settles down as well and peers over her shoulder at the jawa.  
“He’s right, Blizz; give him back his projectors. They belong to him, no matter what he did.”  
Blizz looks unsure, squirming a little bit to show it, but does as he’s told. He’s never shown any interest in crossing Jov, and just wants to be a good member of this team. Thanks to Jov’s interference, the exchange goes through peacefully.  
“See, wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Skadge turns his back on them and approaches the door to his cabin in this place, which isn’t all too big.  
“Just tell him to stay the fuck away from my things in the future, got it?”

She closes her eyes and shakes her head, but then looks down to Blizz.  
“Don’t get into the kind of trouble you’re not ready for, Blizz. Skadge is with us, but angering him is a bad idea.”

“Blizz knows, just…didn’t feel right.” 

Before she manages to respond again, they both hear Mako’s voice over the intercom.  
“Jovana, hope you’re not sleeping.”

It should’ve been loud enough to hear this little fight even from the bridge, but perhaps the slicer was too busy with other things.  
“Uh, no. I just had to settle a little bit of a dispute down here. I’m on my way now.”

“Yeah sure, it’s just me and Torian up here. We’re prepared to leave, unless you got something against that.” 

“Nope, was gonna be my suggestion, actually.”

She goes up through the stairs again, leaving Blizz down below and heads through the doors that lead to the front. Torian is sitting by one of the consoles on the right side, helping Mako with navigation. He looks up and gives Jov a respectful nod.  
“Ner vod, good morning. Hope you slept well.” 

Jov snorts and shrugs. She knows a bit of mando’a now, and feels it’s somewhat endearing the way Torian has been calling her ‘sister’ for quite a while. It’s suitable enough.  
“As well as one can when we don’t know whether we’re hunted or not.” 

Both of them then hear Mako, who sits by the pilot’s chair, working on the instruments at the controls to the ship itself.  
“Don’t be so cynical, boss. Pretty sure the Chancellor told us he’d fix it all.”

“Yeah sure, on the Republic’s end. Doesn’t mean the Empire won’t try to get us for killing that Sith.” 

Mako turns to face her, showing her the kind of confident look that she’s used to expressing.  
“What, are you saying that you’re afraid of the Empire?” 

Momentarily, Jov narrows her eyes and moves closer to the slicer.  
“Not trying to challenge me, are ya?”

“Maybe. Depends if you’re up to it or not. From what I’m hearing, it’s not showing a lot of signs that you would be.”

“Pfft, better shut your mouth before I order you to ram the nearest dreadnought!” 

Mako erupts into a short bit of laughter and then shakes her head.  
“Now that sounds more like the Jovana I know. Either way, you wanna get out of here now?”

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. We can’t stick around for all too long anyway. Even if I’m not afraid to face anyone possibly hunting us head on, it’s still smarter to leave before too many catch our scent.”

Mako nods while she checks the controls, preparing the ship for launch.  
“Sure yeah, that makes sense. Where do we wanna go, though?”

Jov lifts a hand to her chin, stroking it in thought.  
“Been thinking about that, and I still don’t have any clear answers. There’s a lot of worlds we could go but…it’d also be nice to have some place where we could stay, or possibly find work. Even I feel a bit restless just sitting around here.” 

“Yeah, I guess that’d be nice, but do you know a place like that?”

Both of them contemplate an answer to this, but not much come to mind. Torian is the one to actually speak up.  
“We could always go to Mandalore.”

Jov arches an eyebrow at him. It’s true that she’s gotten along with the Mandalore fairly well and she is part of his clan, but she’s not sure if that’s a good option or not.  
“You think he’d just let us in? I’m pretty sure he’s either at the front or some imperial world right now.”

“No no, I don’t mean our leader; I’m talking about the planet.” 

“Ohh, right.”  
She lifts a hand to scratch her cheek in thought.  
“I’ve…never actually been there.” 

“Not everyone has, but it is a place where a lot of clans gather, live or test themselves. It’s where our culture truly started, and a lot of mandalorian craftsman operate from there too.”

“Is that where your clan is?”

Torian looks distant for a moment and then shakes his head.  
“No, they’re not. I’m not sure if yours is either, but we’re Mando'ade and we’d be welcome there regardless. In the Mandalorian way, of course.” 

Mako rolls her eyes.  
“Yeah, not sure I like that idea.”

It’s definitely a suggestion that Jov could consider, but the Empire’s influence very likely stretches towards that area as well.  
“I guess it’s something we could keep in mind, although I’m not all too sure. Perhaps it’s best to aim for another place in the Outer Rim.”

“Well, our plan before was to head towards Din Taro. It’s one of those worlds where a lot of syndicates hang out, which we could probably slip past and hide between.”

“You sure the Exchange hasn’t taken control there now though?” 

She receives a simple shrug from Mako.  
“Possibly, I don’t really know. We’d have to check it out to be-“  
As she watches the screens around the controls, she suddenly sees something that gets her attention.  
“Uh, we’re receiving some kind of…signal.” 

“What do you mean? From what?”

“I…don’t know. A beacon, I think? It’s from within this system, in around the second planet here.” 

“Just now?”

Mako checks the sensors once more, just to be sure.  
“Yeah, that’s what it looks like. Started transmitting very recently. Not even sure how far this one spreads, but we’re definitely getting it at least.” 

Jov approaches the displays as well, checking the information upon them.  
“No one else seems to be heading that way. This could be some kind of message.”

“Probably yeah, like a trap of some kind.” 

It would be rather bold and also a bit stupid to bait her like this, while actually being in a fairly populated system. Then again, she is thinking about taking it, so maybe it’s not the most useless of strategies. Jov frowns and nods sharply.  
“Well hey, perhaps it’s time to do a little bit of that facing our foes head on, after all. Take us towards it.”

Mako gives her a skeptical glance this time.  
“You’re eh, sure about this? Could be a whole bunch of people waiting for us out there or something, you know.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to show them that it’s not a good idea to mess with the Blood Fist.”

As there’s not much point in arguing with Jov when she’s made up her mind, Mako takes them forward and increases their speed substantially as they shoot out through the star system and closer to the source of the beacon. All the way through, Jov is checking the sensors, seeing what they can pick up but whomever it is, they’re quite sneaky.  
It is not until they pass to the far side of the planet that they spot another ship in their vicinity, which just seems to appear out of nowhere.  
“Whoa, this isn’t good. They’ve got some kind of stealth generators or something on that ship.”

While it gets Jov nervous at first, another idea surges through her mind.  
“Wait, hold on, check the scanners. Is there anything familiar with their signal?”

Mako doesn’t seem to quite understand, but does as she’s told. It’s when she does, that she suddenly smirks and shakes her head.  
“Tsk, they gotta stop being so sneaky. Scared the crap out of me.” 

Jov laughs as well now, feeling a lot more relieved. There’s not any weapons primed on the other ship, of course.  
“Guess we better make ready for a joint docking then. I think she’ll wanna have a talk.” 

\-----

“Sir, I believe they’ve taken the bait.” 

“Good, then it’s time to get us into position and make sure we’re ready to greet them.”

“Yes, sir.”

As she sits in the pilot seat, she makes sure all the systems check out and that no other ship might’ve picked up their signal. It’s very important that only one, the single ship she’s after, decides to come to this little meeting. No one else should be there.  
Cipher Ni-...  
No, she no longer goes by that name. That identity is erased, and according to the records, never existed in the first place. It was better that way, to help her get off the grid as far as she possibly could. For now, she’s just Cierah Draconius or whomever else she wishes to be. 

It’s been a while since she last saw the bounty hunter and while she and her crew has been through a lot, it’s the one person she seeks to meet right now that the opportunity presents itself. If she’s used what information there was from the Black Codex correctly, no one else should know where they are nor how to find them.  
She’s not alone on the bridge either, as Raina Temple sits by a seat not far from her, inspection the sensors, while Kaliyo stands behind Cierah. The rattataki isn’t actually doing much else than watching the show. It appears to amuse her somehow.

Kaliyo approaches one of the consoles and leans her back against it.  
“You sure this isn’t going to scare the shit out of them or anything like that? Might fire on us as soon as they can.”

“We won’t give them that opportunity. Besides, I’m certain she’ll recognize us.”

Kaliyo smirks and gives off a slight snort.  
“You two are ridiculous sometimes with how mushy you get.” 

Cierah emits a faint sigh, but doesn’t look at her.  
“If you don’t intend to do anything here, I suggest you go back to your cabin or something.”

“Nah, this is more fun.”

Cierah has always found Kaliyo to be both captivating and annoying. It’s a fine mix and thanks to being so interesting, she has allowed this part of chaos in her life, even after going independent.  
Raina keeps monitoring the situation in silence for a while, until the moves the other ship’s location up on the holoprojector.  
“There we are, sir, it’s within range now.” 

Despite the fact that Intelligence no longer exists and Cierah technically doesn’t have a rank anymore, she allows Raina to use respectable terms anyhow. It works best that way and somehow, Cierah might still be her mentor. Although, it’s uncertain if the Ensign actually needs it anymore.  
“Good, then I’m shutting off the cloaking device. Let’s stay prepared, everyone.” 

Soon enough, it’s clear that the other ship has noticed them and all they can do is wait for what is to happen, hoping they don’t fire up their weapons. Thankfully, their sensors don’t pick up anything like that.  
“Sir, they’re approaching us, at a slow and steady pace. They’re giving us an all-clear signal."

Cierah begins with giving Kaliyo a look. She might almost go so far as to call it smug.  
“Told you.”

“Pft, yeah yeah, big deal. I’m sure she’s just as happy as you are, that you’ll be fucking in your cabin within ten minutes or so.”

They hear Raina coughing awkwardly, but Cierah chooses to ignore her and instead commences procedures to dock with the other ship. Kaliyo might be blunt and kind of rude, but she’s not exactly incorrect. In fact, Cierah is looking forward to it.  
As a couple of minutes passes by, they finally finish and Cierah powers down the engines. When she stands up, she gives Kaliyo another gaze.  
“Can’t really keep them waiting then, can we?”

\-----

“So, is poking us with weird signals just something that you do now?” is the first thing out of Jov’s mouth as she exits the airlock to Cierah’s ship. Not all too far behind her comes Mako and Blizz, who both felt they wanted to get another look on the highly sophisticated equipment in the Imperial vessel.

While Jov is in the red and white armor she’s been using for quite a while now, Cierah is in something red of her own, perhaps what she’d call blood red. It’s an imperial uniform, of course, but with somewhat larger shoulderpads, more decorations and equipment than what some of the other ones had.  
“It was the easiest way to get your attention, without gaining anyone else’s.” 

“Really? Calling was too difficult?”

“It is fairly easy to track such calls and even an encrypted channel would not be as efficient as this.” 

Not that Jov actually knows much about this kind of thing anyhow. She does wonder how long Cierah and he crew have been tracking them, though.  
“Well, whatever. I guess we’re here now and that’s what matters.” 

Cierah nods and then eyes the other two.  
“It appears you’ve taken your companions with you too.”

Jov follows her gaze and smiles at the others.  
“Just these two. Mako wanted to have a chat with one of your crew members and Blizz wanted to take a look at the ship.”

Blizz nods excitedly.  
“So much tech! So shiny!”

Mako smirks and shakes her head.  
“Well, I just wanna talk to that Ensign of yours. Raina, I think. Also, Kaliyo might’ve missed me after the last time.”

They hear the voice of this very person, further away in the ship.  
“In your dreams, maybe!”

“She knows I’m right.”

Cierah doesn’t really mind having these two here, and she’s mostly focused on Jovana anyhow.  
“I suppose I can allow it. Your jawa friend better stay away from most of our databases however. There’s a lot of sensitive information, which no one is allowed to touch.” 

Jov turns to peer down at him, not really wanting to argue about it.  
“You heard her, Blizz – no snooping around in the secret stuff. There’ll probably be something to shock you anyhow, if you try.”

“Oh, definitely.”

Blizz doesn’t seem eager to fight against such rules anyway and just nods to show he agrees. Shortly after, both him and Mako wanders further into the ship. Jov peers after them for a second, but then feels surprised as Cierah grabs her wrist and pulls her away towards the cabin. It’s pretty unusual for her to be this eager to get some privacy.  
Shortly after they enter the room that Jov has almost been in a handful of times now, Cierah shuts the door behind them and then swirls around to the hunter. She grabs the sides of Jov’s armor and pushes her back into the wall, not meeting a lot of resistance. After this, she places hands at both of Jov’s cheeks and forces her to lean down, allowing their lips to crush together into a fierce kiss. 

This was certainly not the reception the hunter was expecting when she’d arrive here. There’s something both desperate and comforting with the kiss, as if it has been something that Cierah had been craving for quite a while and for several seconds, there really isn’t anything more that occurs. Jov does move her arms though, to wrap around the agent’s waist, pulling her closer. She even feels how Cierah strokes a hand, somewhat carefully, through Jov’s red hair, feeling its smooth texture. Thankfully, she hadn’t been doing a lot of tiring activities yet, so it isn’t as sweaty as it can get sometimes.

Once the situation finally calms down, Cierah leans back, and they allow themselves to just revel in each other’s presences for a little while too.  
“Didn’t know you’d missed me that much.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe…”  
Cierah breathes out, closing her eye and allows a little bit of exhaustion to be displayed.  
“A lot has changed since we last spoke.” 

“Yeah, I think I heard about that. Imperial Intelligence is gone?”

Cierah motions towards a sofa on the side, allowing them to sit down and talk for a while.  
“Pretty much, yes. I don’t want to get too much into the details right now but, let’s just say that I was involved at the center of its downfall.”

“Not really that surprised.”

“Well, you might be of all the things I’ve been through.”  
She puts her hands together, while her expression shows a bit of distance.  
“Of all the things I’ve heard and seen. It’s…difficult to describe.” 

Jov wants to sit down, but decides to remove parts of her armor before doing so. She has a grey short-sleeved shirt and some short pants underneath, just to not make it all too uncomfortable. She doesn’t feel like sitting around in heavy gear right now. It’d probably come off quite soon, at any rate.  
“So, the Sith or the Dark Council or whatever, took Intelligence apart?”

“Yes and no. They were the ones who made the decision but…they weren’t entirely the cause. It doesn’t really matter, for I’m no longer affiliated with them.”  
She unbuttons the top of her uniform, showing a yellow and black shirt underneath.  
“I’m done with that organization and that structure now.”

“You’re going back to the military?”

“No, I’m not. From now on, I’m independent.” 

This comes as even more of a surprise to Jov; Cierah has always been a devout imperial, someone who’ll defend it with her very life and do all that it says.  
“You’ve left the Empire?”

“In a way yes, but in another, the Empire has left me.”

“I…don’t get it.” 

Their eyes meet again and Cierah leans back in her seat, while folding her arms.  
“I’ve seen and experienced all kinds of things, Jovana. Betrayal, cover-ups, conspiracies – it’s all aspects that I thought I would be ready for, but when I was thrust into the center of it all, I just…”  
She shuts the eye again, tightening her lips.  
“I will no longer be their tool. I want to defend my home, as I still love the people there, but if they want my help, it will be on my terms.” 

Jov is somewhat stunned, almost shocked actually, to hear Cierah speak so…rebelliously. There was a lot of wear and tear on the agent months ago, but not actual talks of breaking away.  
“Wow, I…dunno what to say. What do the Sith think about all that? I mean, Cipher Nine is kind of an influential figure right now, no?”

“Cipher Nine doesn’t exist anymore. In fact, she never existed to begin with. Now, it is only me and my team. We shall continue to operate that way until I’ve decided that there can be something else.”  
Her eye narrows for a moment.  
“Every spy is expendable, they say. Well, sod that line of reasoning, I say. The Sith have seen me as a resource for too long, but now I have the means to operate without their approval and I shall make use of it in the way I see fit.”

Of course, Jov won’t argue that this kind of change is good. She emits a short bit of laughter after this little rant, however.  
“Well shit, it’s about time that you say this. I mean, it’s what I’ve been saying the entire time.”

“Sort of, I guess, but…”  
Cierah lifts one of her hands and places it around Jov’s.  
“It’s not just about breaking free. I want the freedom I’ve finally been able to tear from their hands, but it doesn’t mean I’ll give up on the Empire. I simply won’t let their whims rule me anymore.”

“Sounds good to me, but won’t they just come after you?”

“Perhaps, but my travels have gained me a lot of equipment and…information, which allows me the chance to slip past their radar. Even if they wanted to, they can’t simply grab ahold of me anymore, which is just the way I prefer it to be.”

Jov is curious just what it is she’s talking about, but at least for now, that can wait.  
“Well, most of all, I’m just glad to see you’re alive.”  
She squeezes Cierah’s hand just a little bit tighter.  
“I almost felt sure that it’d somehow get you killed.” 

Cierah arches an eyebrow in her direction, actually looking slightly amused.  
“And that’s coming from you? The woman who for months was the Republic’s most wanted?”

“Oh, c’mon, that wasn’t the same thing!”

“It’s still something major, though. For once, you were the biggest bounty out there.” 

Jov lifts the other hand to scratch her cheek.  
“Eh, maybe. Bery might disagree with that actually.”

“I checked the numbers, love and yours was definitely higher than hers.” 

That gains her another laughter.  
“Well, I guess I can’t blame ‘em for wanting a piece of me. Can’t help being the most popular and all that.” 

Cierah shakes her head, but still manages to smile; another thing that Jov is thankful for.  
“Regardless, I’m actually glad you spared the Supreme Chancellor.” 

Jov’s expression turns to confusion then.  
“Wait, what? You’re glad I didn’t kill the leader of your enemy?” 

“I’m not saying I care that you showed mercy. I would be quite happy to see him and his successor fall. I’d really like to perform the deed myself, if possible, but that’s not my point. By not doing this, it showed you couldn’t be bought by Sith to do just any kind of dirt.”  
Cierah exhales briefly, raising one of her hands to stroke slowly at the top of her other arm.  
“Darth Tormen was a man who believed in his own might and for everything to be straight forward. He wasn’t a complete fool, perhaps, but certainly not a friend of Intelligence. Of the reports I’ve read, he’d rather take some unnecessary risks that might kill imperial personnel, just to find some way to hurt his enemy and humiliate them.”  
She gives Jov an appreciative nod.  
“If we are ever to set the Empire on the proper route, we need Sith like him gone. Sith who think more of their own victories and the way they achieve it, rather than how we must proceed to grant the Empire victory.” 

Jov strokes the back of Cierah’s hand as she listens. She knows the agent isn’t afraid of sacrifice or killing, as it’s some of the tools she utilizes the most. But of course, she’d rather focus on actually using them properly and not just to be spiteful. For Jov, it doesn’t always have to be so clear-cut.  
“Either way, I mostly did it not to be screwed around by an asshole like him anymore.”  
She gains a little bit of a smirk.  
“Well…maybe also because the challenge of fighting a Darth was a lot more intriguing than some grey-haired politician.”

She hears a sigh from Cierah.  
“Of course, I should’ve expected you’d do it just for the kill.”

“Hey, there’s not a lot of honor in killing some old guy! At least not if he won’t even fight back. Tormen though, he was fun to fight. Haven’t felt my adrenaline pump so fiercely in a while.” 

Cierah shakes her head in disbelief.  
“And you’re afraid that I’m the one who will get myself killed?”

In return, she gets a grin from the hunter.  
“Hey now, are you doubting my skills, beautiful? Think I can’t beat a little Sith?”

“Tormen wasn’t ‘little’, Jovana. He was a Darth, and someone with quite a large powerbase. He was certainly a future candidate for the Dark Council.”

“Tough shit. Now he’s just a bloody mess on-  
Well, they did blow up his dreadnought too so, I guess he’s not even that anymore.” 

Cierah can’t help the small smile which adorns her lips again. She lifts a hand up to capture Jov’s chin.  
“Sometimes, I’m not sure if you’re insane or brilliant.”

“Why not both?”  
Soon after, she’s pulled further down again to another kiss, this one gentler in its nature and somewhat more indulgent. They revel more in the feel of each other’s skin and the close vicinity that they’re in. Afterwards, they stay close, keeping their eyes closed and foreheads pushed together. Jov’s voice is quieter than before, though.  
“So, what happens now then? Gonna keep swinging around the galaxy, helping out with the war?”

“I haven’t thought of that just yet, but probably, yes. We have a lot of information to scroll through and when I’ve found what I need, I’ll make sure we do what’s necessary, no matter what other people say or feel.”  
She then grabs the collar of Jov’s shirt, while she begins to lean back into the sofa.  
“But for now, I’d rather indulge myself in something entirely different. I’ve been waiting for you and you won’t leave until I say so.” 

With a wider grin than before, Jov follows and moves her arms to wrap them around the agent.  
“You’re the boss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Originally, I thought this was gonna be like, 2000-2500 words, but then I wanted to put in a lot of other stuff and it sort of just...grew._
> 
> _Despite the viewpoint Cierah expressed in this chapter, she's not anti-Sith. She's not even anti-Sith rule. All she wants is for Sith to be able to earn their places at the top. She would of course like to see more non-Sith as rulers too though._


	4. Shadows in red (SW + IA)

Port Nowhere, one of places in the galaxy that Zal’riva would be least likely to normally visit. She’s been to worlds like Nar Shaddaa and Nal Hutta previously, sure, but most of the visits to them were in line with her work. Had she the choice on her spare time, such worlds would very quickly come out of the equation. This drifting spaceport has a similar sort of reputation and Zal doesn’t really have it down upon her list of vacation spots or hangout areas.  
It wasn’t all too much of a surprise that Vette knew about it, even having visited it in the past, when Zal mentioned it was to be their destination.

It would be unfair to say that Zal had no choice at all in regards to coming here, but she was very highly incentivized to. Having received an anonymous message with coordinates and words of urgency to meet, she decided it was tempting enough. Parts of her is very much hoping that it’s Ktila who have somehow found a new way and place for them to meet, but that is very likely just wishful thinking. She does have a lot of enemies and therefore wouldn’t simply go and answer any kind of random request, but this one had some personal information included, which few others would know about. In any case, it made her curious. Just to be safe, however, she brought Jaesa and Pierce to stand as lookouts. 

When she enters the cantina, she does move alone however and has chosen to walk somewhat more inconspicuously; this means doing away with the normal coat and armor and replacing it with a hooded brown robes and simple clothing underneath. She’s chosen to hide her lekkus within the hood, although it’s not unusual to see twi’lek here, so unless someone is looking for her specifically, she should be safe.  
At first, she tries to use the Force to sense the area around her, specifically for either beings strong in it or someone that might stand out. Neither search gives any results, which hopefully shows something positive. 

She’s about to reach the counter and order something to drink, when her eyes fall upon someone standing up from a nearby table. It’s someone in a hooded black coat, and while they don’t really stand out much, Zal notices the sign she’s given. A quick hand wave before the individual approaches another door to the side and passes through. She gives the area a slow sweep, making sure that no one else shows any interest. Afterwards, she follows and prepares herself.  
With one hand carefully on top of the lightsaber by her belt, she enters a small corridor that leads towards three more doors. Backrooms of some kind, probably here to give certain customers privacy. Her mind doesn’t need to reach out far to realize her goal is the room furthest away. 

The area she enters isn’t large, although it is quite dark. She doesn’t need lights to sense the stranger however, but soon realizes that she’s got a blaster pistol pointed right at her. Zal snorts, but keeps her hand on the hilt.  
“That’s a bit rude, isn’t it? You asked me to come here, after all.” 

“And it’s foolish to follow strangers alone into unknown territory, as well.”

The voice is familiar to her somehow, but she can’t quite place it. It’s clearly an imperial, though.  
“Perhaps, but since you didn’t fire immediately upon my entry, I’m guessing you don’t want to meet for that reason.”

A few tense seconds go by, until the stranger slowly lowers the blaster to the table and then pushes a button by the table, making the lights fire up.  
“Of course not, but I always try to get the upper hand in situations like these. You can never be too careful.”

When the woman pulls off the hood, Zal immediately realizes why the voice is so familiar, even though she hadn’t expected this.  
“Cipher Nine?” 

Cierah lifts a hand to correct her hair and uses the other to place her weapon back in its holster.  
“I see you haven’t forgotten me, then. Good to know.”

Zal lets her own hand leave the hilt and pulls down her hood as well.  
“It would be difficult to do so, after what we had to go through at a similar place to this one.” 

“I believe mister Vhir would take offense to you comparing his fine station to this junk barge.” 

That brings a small smile to Zal’s lips, as she strolls forward towards the table where Cierah is seated.  
“You’re probably right, but I wouldn’t be so crude in his presence.  
Well, I suppose it’s no surprise that I wasn’t expecting to meet you here.”

“My current situation happens to bring me to more remote areas when I wish to see certain people.”

“Your situation?”

“You haven’t heard the latest news?”

Zal knows what she speaks of, as it’s the only one that could really involve Cierah, albeit she wasn’t sure she could trust it.  
“So, it’s true then? They’ve disbanded Intelligence?” 

Cierah is difficult to read, so while she nods and emits a slight sigh, Zal isn’t sure what kind of emotions might flourish through her. It’s likely she’s had training to control them from Force users. Zal can sense a certain tension, but she can’t tell why.  
“Yes, they have. While the official announcement happened recently, the disbandment itself occurred months ago. I’ve had to deal with a lot of mess since then.” 

A lot of questions come to mind, but there’s one in particular at the forefront.  
“But, this sounds very foolish to me. Isn’t it now that we need Intelligence the most, to combat such attacks from the Republic?”

“I would say the same, but it appears your colleagues do not agree.” 

Zal folds her arms and leans against the back of her seat.  
“I’m not a member of the Dark Council, Cipher, so they’re not exactly my colleagues.”

“You are still Sith, and someone rather important too.” 

“Not all Sith are the same, which you should be well aware of.” 

At least in this regard, she’s willing to give some respite.  
“Fair enough.” 

“So, where does this leave you? Have you been assimilated into the rest of the military?”

Cierah nods again, but with the twitch of her eye and the slight spike of anger, there’s definitely some dislike for this development.  
“Unfortunately, yes. They believed that our spending of resources and personnel had been misused and that we were ‘not doing our part’. There were talks of wasted assignments, corruption, treason…”  
Zal sees how she clenches a fist, not even trying to hide it, but her facial expression remains the same.  
“…but that is no longer the case for me. I have left their ranks and now stand independently.” 

Zal widens her eyes, not quite the words she was expecting.  
“You’ve…left the Empire?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. I still hold our home close to my heart, but I am no longer bound by the same rules and duties as normal imperials.”

She isn’t quite sure what to make of this, nor why she’s being told either.  
“You do know who you’re speaking to, yes?”

Cierah meets her eyes, but doesn’t show fear, nor can Zal sense any.  
“I do, yes, one I’ve had dealings with before and who I know a lot of intimate details about. I’m sure my message showed as much, and that was just a small part of the entirety.”

Best not to strike too harshly here, as it’s not her intention anyhow.  
“Mm, I…suppose I can see your point. But how is this possible then? You must have people chasing you all the time.”

“That would be the reality for a normal defector, but they are not like me. I have secrets and information in my possession that could help topple the Empire, if I choose to give it to the right, or rather wrong, kind of people. Luckily, I have no such intentions.” 

“If what you say is true, and you really intend to help the Empire, then why not hand that information over to the Dark Council?”

Cierah snorts and shakes her head.  
“You know why – because they would misuse it and squander it. Most of them have only themselves in mind, and not what is best for the Empire. The kind of informational resources I’m sitting on is within such a scale that it would be difficult for anyone else to know what to do with.”

Zal tilts her head, not sure if it’s such a major difference.  
“And you believe you’re the one to make that decision? That you know better than anyone else what is best for all of us?”

She sighs and lowers her gaze.  
“If you knew what I’ve been through and the things I’ve seen, you wouldn’t be asking that question. Also, it doesn’t really matter – it is within my possession and therefore it is my choice what to do with it. I will not relinquish it to anyone I find unworthy.”  
Cierah faces Zal again, and there’s a certain sensation of hostility, although not too high.  
“You could try to forcefully extract it from me of course, but I can assure you that other Sith have tried, and failed miserably, to do the same.” 

Zal raises her hand defensively and somewhat disarmingly as well.  
“Look, let’s tone it down a bit, Cipher-“

“You don’t have to call me that. It is not who I am anymore.”

“Then what do I call you?”

“You know my name – use it.”

It is true enough, as she remembers conversations she had with a certain hunter, back on Port Zodric.  
“Very well then, Cierah. I have no intentions of becoming your enemy and I doubt that you called me here for that reason either. I’d like to know why you did, however.”

It appears Cierah calms down as well, perhaps feeling a bit safer now that they won’t be fighting.  
“While I mistrust the capabilities and intentions from many of our leaders, I do acknowledge that I need allies from within to aid me, especially those with a good amount of power.”

Zal smirks and tilts her head knowingly.  
“And you heard about my recent rise then, I take it.”

“It was hard not to – it’s been on a lot of people’s lips. This came as no surprise to me, though. When you performed that task for me, I knew there was strength in you which many would fear. My bet was on the Dark Council, but you seemed to aim even higher.”

Zal sighs and shrugs briefly.  
“Becoming the Wrath was not my choice. It just happened and I had to roll with it.”  
Leaning forward, she now places her arms on the table.  
“But I am curious as to why you would need me and for what.”

Cierah moves her hand in under her cloak and fetches a datapad from it. She lifts it up and starts checking the contents and settings.  
“At this moment, I can’t get into specific details, for I don’t have any. However, it will involve mostly minor acts of importance. Helping me gain access to certain places, aiding my investigations or perhaps assess something Force-related, and so on.”

“Well, not all of those have to be ‘minor’, do they?”

“No, of course not, but it all depends on what I will try to achieve. To summarize – I need powerful allies among the Sith. I’m hoping you can be one of those.  
But don’t let this fool you into thinking I’m the only one who gets anything out of this, for I offer something in return which you may be very interested in – helping you finding a safer way to meet a special individual.” 

It’s already pretty clear how much Cierah knows of what Zal and Ktila have together, although she really wishes that wasn’t the case.  
“And how, exactly, will you accomplish this?”

“I told you, I have a lot of information and secrets in my possession. Finding a safe way for two people to meet in secret shouldn’t be much of a challenge. I’m sure you’re already trying on your own, but this way, it could be achieved a lot easier. I would also aid you in providing sufficient excuses to the appropriate parties, if that is something you require.”

Zal narrows her eyes, before making them fall to the table. It’s certainly a tempting offer, for she has no doubt that Cierah knows how to make it happen. She nibbles at her lip, feeling doubt settling in as it is also dangerous to tie herself to someone like the woman before her. Can she be trusted to keep her word? It is not a question of if, but rather when she will use this to her advantage somehow, possibly bringing Zal down if need be.  
Right now, Zal wishes she was better at this whole intrigue business.  
“I have my doubts how this will work and if we’ll actually be able to cooperate, but…”  
She has to follow her deepest wishes.  
“…let us see if it can be possible, shall we?”

She reaches out her hand and Cierah grasps it into a short shake.  
“Splendid, then we have a deal.”  
The agent then pushes the datapad towards her.  
“Take this. It is encrypted with special codes to make it possible for us to converse on a far more secure channel. We can also share some information with one another, if we find it necessary.”

Zal checks it and figures that it’s probably a good idea to examine it later for possible spying devices. She then looks up to see that Cierah is gathering her other possessions.  
“Leaving already?”

“Yes, our conversation is concluded. It is time that we separate and return to the rest of the galaxy. Or you should, at least.”

And they didn’t even have time for one drink. Perhaps it’s for the best.  
“Before you go, I have a suggestion.”

Cierah stands up, but faces her anyhow.  
“I’m listening.”

“I know you don’t trust most of the Dark Council for their actions, and I don’t blame you. However, I believe that one of them is different and may be able to aid you, if you do search for allies at the top.  
Darth Imperius is…an unconventional addition to the Council and she is driven a lot by her ideals, some which focuses more on a perspective for what is beneficial to the Empire as a whole.”

Best not to get into too many details. She doesn’t even know how much Cierah is aware of.  
The agent gains a thoughtful look to her for a moment.  
“Hmm, she’s a rather new addition to the Council, so I haven’t had much time to investigate her. What you say is very rare, however.”

“Perhaps, but I believe it. At least give her a chance.”

“I shall keep my eye on her and see what I find. We’ll see if she gains my interest or not.”  
Cierah gives her a curt nod, a sign of respect somehow, before pulling up her hood and approaching the door.  
“Wait a minute or two, then head out and grab a drink. Sit around for about half an hour, although not to the exact second, then leave the area.”

She watches Cierah pull up her hood and leave the room without another word. Zal takes a deep breath and shakes her head as she exhales.  
“Spies.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Don't worry, we'll get to Zal and Ktila eventually._


	5. Measured cargo (SW + JK + Sm)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _My smuggler appears in this chapter. She's got a fic of her own somewhere in my list._

“So, how far do we have to go to meet this contact of yours?” 

Ktila is feeling a bit anxious and perhaps not without merit. She doesn’t like being kept in the dark, especially not when it regards Scourge. Well, that might not be entirely fair. He’s earned some of her trust, and she’s well aware that he still wishes to see his old master dead just as much as her, maybe even more. Usually though, he didn’t try to take them away from the battlefield for something like this.  
“Soon. There’s a hidden port not too far away from here.” 

In the backseat of the airspeeder which Scourge is driving, they hear another voice. He did include Kira in the people he wanted with him on this little trip, for some reason.  
“Wait, how do you know of this location? This is a Republic world.” 

He doesn’t gaze at her, but rather keeps looking straight ahead, as they fly over the rocky landscape. They’ve been going for a while now, probably half an hour, getting them quite far from the main parts of the battles that rages against the Empire on this Mid Rim world.  
“I have my sources.”

Kira doesn’t look particularly satisfied with that answer.  
“What, outside of the Empire?”

Scourge gives her no reply, which doesn’t aid with the already quite large divide between them. Ktila knows that neither of them enjoys being in the same company. That works well when she decides to let Kira spar with him, but not as much when-  
…well, pretty much any other time. She sighs, folding her arms. At least she’s not in armor, which possibly would’ve made this journey a tad more annoying.  
“I’m not interested in your contacts though, I just want to know how long until we arrive.” 

Somehow, he appears amused at this reaction.  
“You know, for a Jedi, you are often very impatient.” 

While she rolls her eyes, she knows he doesn’t really mind that she gets this way. Despite everything, there is a portion of him which wants to see her turn from the Order. She knows this and how he admires her strength, but she can never be like him. Turning to the Empire would not be particularly appealing, even if the Order sometimes makes it difficult for her.  
Even though she thinks this, there’s another part of her which points out the hypocrisy of it. She doesn’t want to join the Sith, but can’t stop thinking of one specific individual among them?  
If Zal could actually change the Empire, then…

She’s ejected from her thoughts when Scourge speaks once more.  
“We’re here.” 

Both Jedi shift their gazes towards a small town out among the hills on this side of the planet. There’s a few ships and airspeeders parked here, and there is definitely activity from people, but nothing like some of the major cities.  
What Scourge takes them towards, is one of the larger hangars in the outskirts of the town. Thanks to the landscape being filled with high hills, some of this place is obscured until one flies up close.  
When they finally stop, Ktila surveys the hangar warily.  
“This is it?” 

Kira’s gaze is turned towards parts of the town instead. They do have some security turrets mounted around the edges, but they don’t seem to fire on just anyone.  
“Huh, this looks a lot nicer than I expected.”

Scourge gets out first and begins to walk towards the large building.  
“They should be waiting in here.”

The two others exit soon after, with Ktila keeping her hands close to her lightsabers, just in case.  
“They?” 

“I never said it was just one, did I?”

He hadn’t, but then again, he also hadn’t mentioned much at all of whomever they were nor why they had to come here. Still, she doubts Scourge would just betray them, but Ktila isn’t as sure about…whomever they’re going to see.  
Once they enter, they spot three ships parked within, although the hangar is large enough to fit another if need be. There’s not any activity inside, however, but Scourge still moves towards the closest ship.  
It’s not all too large in size, roughly the same as the Shielded Path, albeit different in shape. The middle is circular, with the bridge itself poking forth from the front, along with a side compartment which has canons attached.  
“Hmm, looks like a freighter.” 

Kira scowls at the side while she studies it.  
“Think I’d describe it more like a piece of junk.” 

At that moment, a voice is heard from the hatch at the back, which is folded down on the ground.  
“What the hell?! And here I thought Jedi were supposed to be courteous.” 

“Then you’ve learned nothing from what I’ve told you”, says another voice by the first one’s side. The second is a tad deeper than the first, but Ktila would still guess that they’re both women. 

What comes into their view is a rather odd duo – on the right walks a blue-skinned individual, a twi’lek. She’s dressed in red, black and white clothes, along with a set of goggles hanging from her neck. She reminds Ktila a bit of Vette, but somewhat curvier and with more elaborate tattoos along her face and lekkus.  
She smirks at her companion.  
“You should know better than to talk to me about boring Force stuff.”

The second sighs and shakes her head. She’s taller than the twi’lek and wears clothing in grey and gold, which involves a scarf and a cloak on the back. Her hair is long and black, except being cut down completely on the right side of her head. What’s interesting though, is her blood red skin, short facial tendrils and orange eyes. They’re not glowing, but that isn’t needed – a pureblood, just like Scourge. Ktila had felt a Force presence here, and this must’ve been the one.  
“Sometimes I wonder why I’m with you.” 

“Because I’m awesome and you love me?” 

The pureblood ignores it and turns towards the newcomers. She gives Ktila and Kira just a short glance, before focusing on Scourge and inclining her head in respect.  
“Lord Scourge, we’re glad you could arrive.” 

Scourge stops and folds his arms. Ktila and Kira decides to stand by him.  
“I did what was necessary, but it is not me you’re delivering your cargo to.” 

The twi’lek shifts to Ktila.  
“Yeah, you’re the recipient, I take it. A chiss was mentioned, I think. Didn’t know your people wanted to be Jedi.” 

Ktila scowls back at her, although she doesn’t intend to be hostile.  
“And…who are you? I don’t recall ordering anything.”

“Oh, you didn’t, but our cargo did. I’m Bery.” She lifts a hand to point her thumb at the pureblood.  
“This is Lenorr.” 

They both inspect Lenorr, who simply places her hands behind her back. Kira arches an eyebrow though.  
“Lord Lenorr? That’s a strange Sith title.”

For some reason, Bery gets a large grin on her face when she turns to Lenorr. The pureblood herself closes her eyes in irritation.  
“…it’s not a title, it’s my name. Just Lenorr.” 

Scourge pokes in right after.  
“That’s not all of it. Lenorr Evintok, yes?” 

Lenorr glances at Scourge again, although doesn’t seem surprised. Ktila peers at him too.  
“You know her?”

“No, I do not, but her family’s name is familiar to me. She is also the one who contacted me about this…delivery.” 

“Right. And what is this delivery anyway? I’d prefer to get some information, if you don’t mind.” 

Bery takes over now and points back at the ship.  
“They should be getting here pretty soon. Gotta say that it was probably some of the rowdiest cargo I’ve ever transported.”

They hear more footsteps from the hatch, and the voice which speaks next, is more than familiar to her. In fact, it manages to stir Ktila’s heart more than any other can.  
“Is that meant to insult me, Captain? I’m pretty sure we paid for this trip, so I think that makes us ‘passengers’ and not cargo.” 

Soon enough, the first of a trio steps into view and despite already knowing by the sound of the voice, Ktila’s eyes widen at the sight of this taller twi’lek.  
It appears Zal just can’t do away with that coat, as it swings around her back as usually while she confidently strolls forward. At her side is two more recognisable figures – Jaesa and Vette.  
Bery amusedly turns to face her too.  
“Well, as I had to actually smuggle you here, I still think my categorization stands.”

“And they say that Sith are heartless.”  
Despite saying this, Zal still has a smile on her lips.

“Never said I was a good person or anything!”

“Z...Zal!”  
Ktila’s sudden outcry attracts most people’s attention, and while she tries to calm down, she just couldn’t help herself.  
“What…what are you doing here?” 

She eventually strides up to stand by Bery’s side, which just makes the height even more evident. Lenorr is tall enough, but not as this woman. It appears both Wraths have that in common, at least.  
“I wanted to meet with you, of course, but it wasn’t really that easy. Had to find some way to get to you, which is when Vette remembered someone who gets these kinds of things done.” 

Vette looks quite proud of herself, while hers and Jaesa’s eyes are mostly locked with Kira’s.  
“Risha owed me a favour.” 

On the other side, Bery shakes her head.  
“And I don’t know why, but apparently I have to help her pay them back.” 

Ktila hesitates at first, but then takes some tentative steps forward. She listens to the others but only faces Zal. The Sith does something similar.  
“I…but there’s a battle here on this world. Are you...?”

Zal realizes quickly and lifts a dismissive hand, trying to reassure Ktila.  
“Ah, no, I’m not involved in it and I have no mission here. In fact, we had just finished one of our tasks not too long ago and…well, I wanted to arrange for this so that we could discuss certain…matters.” 

It’s not really difficult for most in here to assume what kind of matters those are, but no one will question them on it.  
“But erm, I have duties here. I’m still assigned as the commander of the Jedi forces on this world. They are expecting me to be at the gatherings when needed.”

“Of course, I understand, but they can survive without you for at least a day, can’t they?”

Ktila isn’t sure why she’s even protesting. There’s no doubt in her mind that she wants the same thing. She starts to glance around the hangar though, and at the ship.  
“…in there?”

Zal smiles, coming closer and then motions to the exit of the building.  
“No, I’ve arranged a location for us to stay for the night. I wouldn’t want to intrude on Captain Shodem any more than we’re already doing.”

Bery hears it and doesn’t really seem like she agrees with that.  
“You say that now, but you still want us to stick around while you…have your fun.” 

She gets to lock sights with Zal again.  
“You are being compensated for this, Captain, just like I said. I’m sure our friend would appreciate it too.” 

Bery rolls her eyes, and then turns to walk back towards the hatch to her ship.  
“Yeah yeah, we’ll be here. Just try to not somehow get your war to this place while we’re around.”

Zal looks amused at the comment but then returns to Ktila.  
“Shall we?”

There’s nothing but agreement from her, as they walk off together. It appears that Kira, Jaesa and Vette do the same.  
Lenorr gazes after her girlfriend, but then peers at Scourge.  
“You’re welcome to stay with us, for the time being.”

He shakes his head, however.  
“I shall see what else this town has to offer.”

And with that, he strolls away as well. Lenorr moves to join Bery while they walk inside the ship once more.  
“Didn’t I tell you that Jedi can be so hypocritical?” 

Bery smirks at Lenorr while she takes her hand.  
“Pretty sure I could say the same about both of your kinds, babe.”

\-----

They leave the hangar behind and wander further into the city, remaining silent and inconspicuous as they do, until they can move towards the hostel which Zal has rented a room by for the night. It’s not the most luxurious of locations perhaps, but neither of them seem to mind.  
Once they enter, to Zal’s surprise, Ktila is the first to act. She grabs the hem of the Sith’s coat and pulls her down. The kiss they join into is eager, deep and rather lengthy, displaying a longing over the absence from one another. Not that it’s been ages since they last met, but as it’s so rare that they get the chance to see each other to begin with, it allows them to savour every occasion. Ktila is usually one to hold back just a little bit however, but not this time.

She does catch herself in the act soon, pulling herself back and correcting her clothes.  
“Sorry. You erm, you didn’t explain fully why you’re here.” 

Zal looks amused while she moves a thumb over her own lips for a moment.  
“I had intended to wait until we got some privacy, but I don’t mind postponing it some more, if you wish.” 

Ktila clears her throat, somewhat embarrassed over her eagerness, even if it’s just the two of them.  
“No, now would be a good time.”

She gives the room a quick sweep too, seeing a bed, table, some other minor furniture and a window. Bathroom, shower and such have to be shared here, apparently.  
Zal motions towards the two chairs within for them to sit down on.  
“I’m not sure what to tell you, though. I did really intend to see you, while I came here.”

“What, so you snuck all the way behind enemy lines, just to come meet with me for a day?” 

Zal smiles confidently when she tilts her head.  
“Is that so strange to believe?”

Then again, she has done worse things.  
“Not with you, I guess, but it’s quite a risk all the same.” 

While she agrees with that assessment, Zal couldn’t let that stand in her way. Any opportunity to see Ktila is an important one, especially in these times.  
“Yes, I know, but it’s worth it to me.”  
She moves her hand towards Ktila’s and the Jedi smiles gently despite her wariness.  
“I suppose I should admit that you’re correct. It’s not the only reason I’m here.” 

Ktila doesn’t let go, but feels the solemn aura settling in.  
“Figured as much. You can be reckless, but not this much.”

“Hey, this wasn’t reckless. I planned this quite thoroughly, I’ll have you know! Well, me and Vette.” 

She shakes her head, not wanting to argue about this particular subject.  
“I’m sure you did.” 

“In any case, I should start with a warning. The topic I wish to discuss isn’t very comfortable, especially for you.” 

Ktila narrows her eyes in suspicion, gaining an understanding.  
“Go on.” 

“It regards the Emperor.” 

She shifts her gaze away towards another part of the room, takes a deep breath and slowly pushes it out, preparing herself.  
“And why do you want to talk about him?”

Zal realizes that this will be more difficult than most other subjects, but Ktila is the only one she can speak of it with. There are questions which linger and won’t be answered anywhere else.  
“You know I still serve him, or his chosen servants-“

“Which is bizarre, because he’s dead.” 

The Sith shows a small scowl upon her brow, but continues.  
“I’m not so sure that he is. You know as well as me that his physical body being gone, doesn’t mean he’s dead.” 

The last time they spoke of something similar, they did mention how it was that Zal freed him. Ktila was certain it would work anyhow, however. After all, no one else had managed to get this far.  
“He was weakened during our fight, Zal. I did all I could to stop him, threw everything down on him. I almost had to sacrifice Rusk to succeed.” 

Looking at her expression, it’s clear that she isn’t very proud over her decision, but still did what had to be done.  
“Yes, I know, but the physical aspect of it doesn’t mean he won’t return at some point. The Hand has spoken very little of it to me, probably because they don’t trust the Wrath as much after Scourge, but they have reassured me that he will.”

“And you trust them?”

“For the most part, no, but I do with this specific issue. They seem pretty adamant in their belief, and aren’t just trying to convince me of it.” 

Ktila doesn’t share in her certainty, but won’t speak against her so directly.  
“Alright, let’s say he returns; when will that actually happen?”

There’s no proper response to this, of course, so Zal shrugs.  
“I have no idea. It might be years, decades or centuries, but we can’t rule out the fact that his return will come sooner rather than later.”

Ktila sighs and scratches her neck for a moment.  
“I don’t really know what it is you want to point out with this, though. I’ve done all I can, and I will do once more if he returns, but…” 

“I want to discuss your captivity.” 

She immediately notices a slight shift in Ktila. It’s a tension that seems to roll down all across her body, hardening her eyes and making her place her hands together while fidgeting.  
“That’s…a complicated issue.” 

“I know we didn’t discuss it last time, I know it’s not easy for you and I’m not expecting otherwise, but somehow I need to understand him better; his measures, thoughts, methods…something that can tell me more than I already know.” 

Lowering her gaze, Ktila at least manages to keep herself steady.  
“It’s not…quite what you may believe.”

When there’s nothing more after a few seconds, Zal frowns and pushes her chair a bit closer. Their hands weren’t intertwined any longer, so she places one upon Ktila’s arm.  
“Can you explain?”

She tries to think back, trying to grasp at fleeting pieces that won’t stay still. Distant memories can be hard to fully form, but this is somehow in a much worse state.  
“It’s not difficult because of what he did or…what I did, but rather because I can’t remember.” 

“Nothing at all?” 

“No, it’s…there are some things left from that time. Images, mostly, in a haze. I’m not even sure they’re real.”  
She doesn’t shove Zal’s hand away, but instead feels it as a comforting presence when it squeezes gently.  
“At times, I could see myself doing things. Using my lightsaber, channeling power, fighting…I remember being at different locations which are hard to fully make out.”  
Her eyes slowly shuts.  
“The sharpest memory I have is the…whispers.”

“Whispers?”

“Yes. I think it’s his voice, but I can’t make out the words. All I can sense is that they’re holding me back, cutting apart and separating any coherent thoughts. They’re overwhelming to a point that it almost suffocates me at times. The only thing that keeps me whole is-“

She stops suddenly, opening the lids once more but doesn’t face Zal. Another bit of silence that she has to try to push through.  
“Is what, Ktila?”

The sigh this time is even deeper, and regretful in a way.  
“I…hadn’t planned to tell you this part.” 

Zal gets a look of confusion.  
“And why is that?”

She doesn’t want to push too hard but, this is surely something that would be important regarding their adversary.  
Ktila decides to finally peer up again, towards her.  
“Much of what managed to keep me sane or whole at that point, I believe, is our bond. The thought of you.”

Another way she manages to surprise the Sith, leaving her momentarily speechless.  
“Oh. I…I don’t know how that’s possible. I never even sensed what happened to you.”  
Which isn’t entirely true either. She does remember an inexplicable feeling of unease.

“Maybe not, but I felt you all the time back there. Or at least, I think it was all the time. I’m not sure how long it was, or when it even started. Sometimes, I don’t even know if I can trust that’s what it was or if it was just another trick of the Emperor, but…it seemed different from everything else.” 

Taking this in shouldn’t be as difficult as it feels. She’s heard of all sorts of ways that the Force can be utilized.  
“Could you…describe this sensation somehow?” 

There’s still a bit of doubt in her, preventing her from reassuring herself.  
“Not in any way that makes sense.”

“And then the spirit of your master broke you free?”

“Mm, or at least gave me a short moment of respite from the onslaught, that allowed me to tear myself free.” 

Zal doesn’t quite know what to make of this. All it really tells her is that the Emperor’s power is beyond explanation or at the very least difficult to decipher. At this point, it might be best not to drag the mood down any further, so she tries to put it on a more light-hearted note.  
“Well, I’m sure your masters wouldn’t be very happy to hear this.” 

Ktila peers at her questioningly.  
“What do you mean?”

“That we’re somehow bonded and that basically a gorgeous Sith managed to break you free from the Emperor’s hold.”

Ktila snorts with some amusement. Zal would be one to make light of this kind of event, but she doesn’t wish to scold the Sith for it. In a way, it makes it easier.  
“Don’t get all cocky now.”  
She leans closer and places a brief kiss on Zal’s cheek.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” 

“Well, now that we finally have the chance, perhaps we should try to focus on ourselves. I’m not sure when the next opportunity will come.” 

Suddenly, there’s something sly to Zal’s expression.  
“Oh, I have a feeling it might come sooner than expected.”

“…have another thing up your sleeve?”

“In a way. Do you remember the agent we met on Hoth?”

It would be strange if Ktila forgot that occasion, after all the trouble it caused. She frowns with the memory of it.  
“You mean when she threatened me and then forced you to get into some nefarious deal just so she wouldn’t blast me in the head?”

“That one, yes. The deal wasn’t that bad, actually. We had some differences, but it worked out in the end, I’d say.”

She’d been told of it at a later date, and would disagree with such an evaluation.  
“You mean when she used you and almost got you killed.”

“I’m telling you, it wasn’t that bad, honestly. I’ve been through worse.” 

Ktila raises a hand to rub her forehead, getting an eerie feeling of what’s coming.  
“Let me guess, you made another deal with her?”

“Yes, but this one doesn’t require me to go into something dangerous. Not immediately, anyhow.”

What was that about not being reckless?  
“Tell me what she offered and I’ll give my own appraisal of it.”

“It’s simple, I help her with some investigation from time to time and in return, she’ll offer her expertise on how we can set these gatherings up more discreetly.”

Ktila’s brow rises with suspicion.  
“That sounds…a little bit too convenient to me.” 

For whatever reason, Zal remains quite relaxed.  
“I’ll admit that I’m not completely certain what it’ll entail, but what I do know is that Intelligence no longer exists and she’s independent. Something has made her split with the Empire, and while she still wishes to aid it, she’s no longer under its control.”

“So, what, she’s a rogue agent now?”

“Don’t think she’d describe herself that way, but something along those lines. I do feel as if we can trust that she will keep her promise while the deal is convenient, at least.”

“And when she has no need for it any longer?”

Zal shrugs, but doesn’t appear to be any more worried still.  
“Then we shall see if we can handle it differently.”  
Once more, she entwines their hands, but moves the closest arm around Ktila.  
“In any case, we have one possibility which can bring us closer, at least for a time. I think we should seize it while it’s available.”

Ktila does worry a lot about the repercussions, and what everyone around them will do if they ever find out, but the appeal of this is substantial. Might be to the extent that refusing would be a foolish notion.  
Finally giving in, she sighs.  
“Alright, I’m with you in this, as long as you promise to be careful.” 

“I promise I’ll do my best to try.” 

Another shake of her head, she still manages to smile when Zal kisses her forehead and then proceeds to continue such ministrations further down.  
“Guess that’s the best I’ll get.”


	6. Making business (Sm)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This one focuses on Bery from the last chapter. There's also another character who appears, an OC called Kemmet Vhir. I originally introduced him as part of a small arc, back in "Among the faded tales", but I give some details about him here too so it's not necessary to read that, if you don't want to._

“Hey, how do I look?”  
She straightens her lekkus, repositioning her headband just a centimeter higher and tries to make sure that her long black vest hangs smoothly upon her. Is that a stain on the left side down there?

“Like a shitty smuggler pilot.”

Bery turns to face Risha, scowling and pouting faintly as she does.  
“Wow okay, that’s not very nice.”

Her companion appears rather amused in contrast and simply shrugs. In comparison to the Captain, she’s dressed more formally in a red suit with small green features.  
“I assumed you wanted the truth when you asked.”

“I did but, that could’ve been said with a bit more…eloquence! Isn’t that why I hired you?”

“No, you hired me because I’m smarter than you and know more about how to administer your business than you do.”

“Pretty sure the first part of that is a lie.”  
The sound of their boots echo across the walls of the hangar they’re on their way to exit, and the far-off lights of it is soon exchanged with sharper and more varied ones inside the halls of the space station they’re docked at. Even though they haven’t yet entered the main market district of the promenade, faint scents of the denizens of this place are already entering their nostrils. That includes cheap liquor, different sorts of perfumes, bodily fluids and a whole range of quality meals. Well, what makes for quality out here in between borders.  
Port Zodric is a neutral station and has been for quite some time. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t see presences from many factions of the galaxy, quite the contrary. Several organizations, although mostly dubious ones, have base of operations paid for and secured within its territory. Mostly, it’s been created as a meeting ground for these groups to trade, communicate and expand their own networks.  
Such a large gathering might usually be cause for concern, if it wasn’t for the fact that the station is owned and guarded by the aged nautolan Kemmet Vhir and his security force. Bery isn’t sure of the exact history, but has heard that they once used to be a criminal group of their own back in other parts of the Outer Rim, before he took over and renovated this location, placing it between Hutt and Imperial space.

“There’s a lot of exposed emotions here. Fear, lust, greed…”  
Bery turns and looks at the woman on the opposite side of Risha, Lenorr, her girlfriend since a few months now. The Sith pureblood have integrated herself to a somewhat workable degree within the crew, but some of them are still uncomfortable in her presence.  
“Seems like any other place you usually visit.”

The gaze she gets from Risha is slightly uncertain, still not all that relaxed about Lenorr’s abilities. Bery on the other hand, smirks at her and playfully nudges Lenorr’s side.  
“Yeah, so what? This is the kind of station made for people like us. Sort of, anyway. Good for making contacts.”

Lenorr glances at her skeptically.  
“I thought you didn’t want an empire of your own.”

“Is that the only territorial size you can imagine? It doesn’t have to be that huge to be useful.”

The Sith doesn’t respond, perhaps seeing the point. Risha eyes the two but focuses on Bery.  
“Where did he say he’ll meet us?”

“Three levels up, in one of his private lounges. Should be waiting there, if the message was correct.”

Lenorr lets her gaze sweep across the area, keeping her senses sharp as they go. She’s here for security, and she’s taking that task very seriously, as she does with most things. Compared to her companions, she is not familiar with this station at all and chooses to be a tad more cautious.  
Risha lifts the datapad she’s holding under one arm and taps some of the buttons upon it, looking through a list.  
“I hope you’ve made your case pretty clear. He will probably have some concerns about us being here.”

“Don’t be so certain of that. The guy knows me by now, so it’s not like this will be completely new to him.”

Risha exhales briefly.  
“He knows you as the smuggler, not as the underworld boss you’re becoming. He’ll probably be as cautious of you as everyone are right now.”

“Eh, maybe, but they’ll come around eventually. Vhir is just a start.”

She shakes her head at Bery’s confidence, but she’s not in charge of this show, so it’s best just to stumble along.  
“If you say so.”

They don’t have to move far across this section of the promenade, as elevators are fairly close to their current location. Kemmet had offered to send an escort with them, but Bery didn’t want to draw too much attention. It’s bad enough that she’s caught the eyes of all sorts of authorities, syndicates and gangs across the galaxy lately; it would just make matters worse here if they made a spectacle of it. Thankfully, he seemed to agree.  
Having reached the correct level, they move across an area which is designed more sleekly than the one they just came from. More windows, plants and holographic artistry on display. The hallways echo with ambient sounds of some kind of forest, played by speakers attached to the walls. As there’s little on offer here in terms of merchandise and entertainment, the roads are mostly empty of people. Guards and surveillance cameras are still fairly prevalent however.

The three women soon approaches a set of doors spelling the word ‘Titan Gates’ in Aurebesh, although the meaning behind it eludes them. Two guards are situated outside but does not move at their approach, just letting them pass through. They’re expected, clearly.  
The room they enter is a fairly spacious one, having at least four different sets of sofas and armchairs, one in each corner. In the middle, they can see a small fountain with green and blue plants, as well as some small marine creatures within its waters.  
The moss green-skinned nautolan rises from his seat by one of the sofas at the far end from where they enter. He stands in some exquisite violet robes, with shimmering silver and scarlet features. His hands are hidden inside the long sleeves that he connects in the middle. While his calm expression is hard to read, he does give them a short and polite bow.

“Welcome, Captain Shodem and miss Drayen. Or do you prefer ‘your majesty’?”

His Basic is spoken with a faint accent, and while the question is asked without any obvious signs of sarcasm, Risha smiles all the same, lifting a hand to dismiss the notion.  
“I believe ‘miss’ works just fine, or Risha if you prefer, mister Vhir.”

“As you wish.”  
His dark gaze becomes somewhat wary when he glances at Lenorr however.  
“Captain Shodem, I was told that you were not involved in the current conflicts within the galaxy and had no ties to either side.”

Bery smiles and shrugs as they get closer to his position. She notices that they’re not alone in here, as there’s at least four guards standing by the wall behind his seat.  
“I don’t think that’s exactly what I said. It was something closer to, ‘having no allegiance to any of them’.”

He doesn’t seem amused but doesn’t make any frustrated noises either.  
“Perhaps my memory fails me, then. Either way, I was not told that a Sith would be accompanying you.”

She is curious about his worries, but she doesn’t want to make things worse before they’ve already started.  
“Well, just because she’s a pureblood, doesn’t mean she’s with the Empire.”

While Lenorr is just as wary of him, she tries to keep things polite too, putting a hand at her chest and bowing faintly.  
“My name is Lenorr Evintok and what Captain Shodem says is true. My allegiance is to her, not the Empire.”

His eyes narrows faintly.  
“And you have no ties to the Empire whatsoever?”

“No, such a statement would be a lie. I have been raised and trained within the Empire, but I have resigned from my position there. I am independent now, my only focus being on the tasks I perform for the Captain.”

Bery tries her best not to smirk and nods. They’re now right behind the sofa opposite Kemmet’s, but have not sat down just yet.  
“Yeah, she usually helps with security and accounting.”

He looks momentarily confused.  
“Accounting?”

Lenorr places her arms behind her back.  
“I was a member of the Sphere of Production and Logistics, which means I have some experience.”

This interests him to a small degree, although she’s not sure if it lowers the tension.  
“Very well, then I shall take you at your word, miss Evintok.”  
Getting back to his seat, he crosses his legs and raises a hand towards the other sofa.  
“Please, have a seat and let us discuss why you came here. Ah, but first, can I offer you any refreshments?”

Bery naturally walks in first and sits down in the middle, with Risha on her left and Lenorr standing behind them.  
“Yeah sure, you got any krytloce ale?”

Kemmet nods briefly, recognizing the quite popular drink within Hutt space. Risha peers briefly at Bery, before returning to their host.  
“I would prefer something sweeter.”

“I have recently acquired a few bottles of Bothan grain wine, which you might enjoy.”

“That sounds lovely. I’ll gladly take such an offer, mister Vhir.”

Finally, his sight reaches Lenorr, but she simply shakes her head.  
“Thank you, but I shall have to pass.”

With a short nod and a quick snap of his finger, one of his guards leaves the room to attend to the task, while Kemmet resumes the conversation.  
“I suggest we begin our discussion then, Captain. I am curious what you have to offer. Currently, I do not have any need of your services, but I have a feeling that is not why you have come.”

Bery shakes her head and crosses her legs while she leans back into a more comfortable position. The sofa itself is rather nice and soft to sit on, clearly made for comfort rather than outstanding design.  
“Yeah, not really here about delivering cargo or anything, but I’m not ruling out the possibility for this in the future. I assume you’ve heard of the latest ‘changes’ that’s happened around our districts of the galaxy?”

Kemmet nods curtly once more, but doesn’t give much away as to his opinion of it.  
“It has been difficult not to. A lot of people spread the word after the fact.”

“Mm, although I gotta mention that it wasn’t my choice to do so. Everyone just got a little bit too excited, I think.”

Risha folds her arms where she sits.  
“Or more likely, that they wanted to see what could be gained by speaking for you.”

“That too.  
In any case, I wasn’t planning on doing anything different from how I usually handle my jobs, but…well, it’s kind of hard to slip in between the crowd, when most people and authorities knows about me and my ship. I’ve been forced to build up a base of operations regardless of what I want.”

Before Kemmet responds, the doors slide open and a light green-skinned male twi’lek comes in with a tray and three glasses on top. The guard walks right behind him and returns to the position by the rest. Kemmet waits until all the drinks have been put down and the worker has left, before he continues.  
“I have heard of this too, Captain. Your control over Port Nowhere has not eluded my attention.”

With a wry smile, Bery lifts her glass and takes a quick swig of it, getting just that bitter taste she was hoping for.  
“Figured as much, but I wanted to be honest. And well, Port Nowhere is a fairly decent place to do business on, but it has its limitations. That’s why I came to you. Was wondering if there’s room enough here for me to set up quarters of my own.”

Finally, he appears slightly surprised as he tilts his head and one of his headtails gives off a faint twitch.  
“You wish to create a section of your own on Port Zodric? That is…an interesting but also not expected choice.”

Risha takes a sip of her wine as she watches Kemmet, holding it in both her hands, with one below it.  
“And why is that? Your station is a very popular one, attracting a lot of important organizations for all sorts of reasons.”

“True enough, but it also does not have the advantage of anonymity such as Port Nowhere. We do not drift and many factions, even the Republic and Empire, are aware of our location, even if they rarely visit.”

Bery does not look deterred by this fact, as they’ve put this into their calculations.  
“Sure, but what you have on your side is the security you offer for everyone here, your position as a mediator, as well as a large gathering of people that could be interested in making business deals with us. I like that. That is, unless you disagree with my assessment.”

Pride is at least something he seems to indulge in and he narrows his eyes at her challenge.  
“I do not. Port Zodric is certainly one of the most secure and stable location in the galaxy, for the kind of activity you wish to partake in. However, I cannot claim it is without its struggles and many syndicates and gangs choose to target each other, when seeing a weakness. Sabotage is not uncommon.”

At this, Bery merely shrugs nonchalantly.  
“Oh, I’d like to see them try. Maybe they’ll be luckier than the Voidwolf was, but I have my doubts.”

Kemmet appears amused and takes a swig from his drink too, some kind of blue and transparent one.  
“Very well, Captain. I will not deny your request, for I feel it shall be quite fascinating to see how you may grow here. But know that I remain neutral in all affairs here on Port Zodric, except those who threaten my station.”

“Glad to hear it! You’ve made the right decision. You should probably get more acquainted with Risha at some point too, since she’s my uh…’representative’, I guess.”

Risha rolls her eyes.  
“Aye, basically the one who does all the hard work for her.”

“C’mon, not everything! I fly the damn ship.”

“That’s just about the only thing you do, except for wildly flailing your blasters.”

Bery tries to poke Risha’s side to tickle her, but she slaps the hand away.  
“Like I said, should probably get accustomed to her, Vhir. She can be pretty ferocious.”

Kemmet inclines his head briefly and smiles politely.  
“I have no doubt we shall have a chance to get along.”

* * *

 

The details of speaking with Kemmet takes about an hour, and afterwards, they head straight back towards the Hypertrail to begin their plans for what to do with the space they’ll be using here.  
Risha is already putting down a list of furniture, objects, terminals and other things they’ll be needing, as well as ideas for what staff to use. Bery hopes this whole thing will be run more like a business, which is actually something she’s not as adverse to, unlike having an ‘empire’.  
As they walk, however, Lenorr has remained silent and distant. When Risha’s focus is on her datapad, Bery notices the expression.

“Hey, something wrong, babe?”

Lenorr blinks and quickly faces her. There’s no immediate response, but rather something she has to dig forth.  
“I…I don’t know. I felt something when you spoke with Kemmet.”

“Uh, okay. Can you elaborate?”

“Well, a Force presence, obviously. I’m feeling fairly confident when I say that I believe one of those in the room were Force-sensitive.”

Bery crosses her arms, looking curious but not worried.  
“You don’t know which one?”

“No…I don’t, and that is what disturbs me.”

“You have any idea of why you wouldn’t be able to pinpoint it?”

Lenorr peers forward, feeling as if her mind is many parsecs away, while she tries to analyze the situation.  
“Only if they’re very powerful or have a strong shrouding ability, but even that would stretch it somewhat, at such a close vicinity. I intend to find out, either way.”


	7. A life of duty (Tr)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This is the first chapter with my Trooper, the female togruta Reezah Hiktesh. Her background and pictures can be found on that link I posted for the first chapter._
> 
> _Reezah is my second character who's in a relationship with a companion, so Elara will be in this one._

Grabbing the handle to the door, she slides it open with a firm pull and watches the contents of her wardrobe. Planting hands at her hips, she emits a faint sigh as her eyes shifts between the different articles of clothing, wondering what to wear. She should probably try to shop sometime soon, as she’s sort of running out. She bought a whole load of outfits a long while back, but that has gradually diminished for a variety of reasons. Some of them have been torn during missions, others she has simply been careless with while working out or training. One of the downsides, perhaps.

“So, what would you say about coming over for a visit?”

Reezah finally reaches in and grabs a hoodie and some loose pants, then closes the door. She throws the pants on the nearby bed, while she puts the top on. She doesn’t need to actually see the man on the small holorprojector in her room, to address him.  
“Are you in a hurry?”

He snorts but retains a smile as he does.  
“Not really, but it would be kinda nice to actually get to see her, you know.”

Reezah’s lekkus moves to correct themselves while she closes the hoodie and then sits down as she gets her leggings on.  
“I’m not sure whether we’ll have time soon or not, though.”

He rolls his eyes, having expected this retort.  
“Oh, here we go with the excuses.”

She quickly looks up then in the middle of dressing and scowls faintly.  
“Hey, I’m not making excuses! I’m just telling you what the deal is. I want you to get a chance to meet, it’s just…”

“You’re just trying to evade it, that’s all.”

“Gatree! Listen to me, I’m not evading it. It’s just not as simple as you think.”

The man on the holoprojector, another togruta with similar skin and montral colors as herself, raises one of his tattooed eyebrows, while folding his arms. If they’d be standing in front of each other, he’d be just a few centimeters taller, but because of her training, her build would be larger.  
“Right, so where are you right now?”

With the kind of holofrequency he had to use, he should be aware that she’s on her ship.  
“What do you mean? I’m on the Meteor.”

“Yeah, and because you’re able to have this conversation, I’m assuming you’re not exactly on a mission.”

Having both parts of her clothing on now, she leans forward slightly and places her arms on her legs.  
“Well, it’s not like I have to be on an urgent mission right this moment to still be kinda busy, you know. The military demands a lot of us, Gat, and I take my duties very seriously.”

Even as he argues, both his tone and his demeanor is still kind of light-hearted.  
“And yet not so seriously as trying to avoid fraternizing with your crew.”

“That’s…totally different.”

“How?”

One of her lekkus twitches in irritation while she fidgets a bit with the sheets.  
“Being out here with my team, we…we tend to be really close, you know. While I expect them to be professional when we’re working and always honing their skills, it doesn’t mean we can’t…relax and enjoy our time together.”

Gatree smirks and tilts his head.  
“Like you did with that zabrak guy? What was his name…”

He looks away as if trying to seriously consider it, and Reezah sighs.  
“Sure, if that’s how you wanna look at it. Things are a bit more serious with Elara, though.”

“Yeah, he didn’t last very long, did he?”

She lifts a hand to rub her forehead.  
“Look, are you trying to convince me that you should be allowed to meet her or not? Your chances are diminishing by the second.”

He emits a short laughter then and raises his arms defensively.  
“Alright, alright! I’m sorry.”  
She doubts he is. He likes messing with her.  
“I really do want to meet her, though. It’d be fair to her too, as she should get to see your part of the family, as well. I’m sure Kav’tes feels the same.”

Mentioning their youngest brother, Reezah somehow finds it a bit amusing how they managed to create such different futures, after their wrecked past on Balmorra. She went into the military, Gatree became a technical consultant, while Kav decided he wanted a calmer life as a farmer. Then again, part of why she’s fighting is to preserve the lives they want.  
“I know.”  
Elara might feel similar to Gatree.  
“It’s just that…I mean, we live so far apart too.”

“Oh c’mon, that’s a lame excuse and you know it. How difficult could it really be? Just pick a place and we’ll meet there.”

“Well, I mean, could Kavy even afford a ticket to Coruscant or something?”

He raises an eyebrow, giving her a very skeptical look.  
“That’s not a serious question, is it?”

“…no, not really. You’re right, I’m just…”  
She knows that her youngest brother does fairly well in his chosen profession too and all of them could easily afford a simple trip to whatever place they decide. Even if he couldn’t, she and Gatree could simply choose to take their partners to the world Kev lives on. Not a big deal.  
“Look, I’ll talk to her, okay? If we have time in between assignments, we will seriously consider it.”

“Mm, do you _promise_ to do so?”  
She narrows his eyes slightly at his teasing tone.  
“C’mon, say it! I’m not gonna believe ya unless you do.”

“Yes yes, okay. I _promise_ we’ll _consider_ meeting up with you guys at some point, soonish. Happy now?”

Once more, he laughs although this time more heartily.  
“I guess it’s all I’ll get, so yeah, happy enough. Just don’t go off and marry her without telling us, okay?”

She winces slightly at that, a barely noticeable move, but she is taken aback by it. Shortly after, she smiles and shakes her head.  
“I think that’s quite far off. We haven’t gone into those kind of discussions just yet.”

“So it’s not that serious yet?”

“No it is, it’s just that I…”  
Her mind wanders off for a second, thinking of the months she’s spent with her team and Elara, and especially the moments of intimacy they get. Her feelings for her XO is rare, something she isn’t sure she’s felt for anyone else before. That said, would considering this be taking it too far?”  
“I dunno.”

“It’s just that you’re a little bit scared, isn’t it?”

She glares at him and his wry smile, but not with that much intensity. Others would probably still flinch at such a display, but he knows his sister too well.  
“Shut up and get to work.”

He lifts a hand and gives her a crisp, although somewhat mocking salute.  
“Aye aye, sir! Although, I was actually going to have my lunch now, with your permission.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Say hi to Elara for me!”

Reezah snorts, even though she’s amused and simply leans forward to close the conversation. She forgets how annoying the older of her two younger brothers can be, but that’s one reason why she loves him. He always retains a sort of positive view of things, although twists it into humor.  
Shortly after she sits back in the bed again however, she feels her body twitching in surprise when a set of arms stroke around her from behind. She almost tries to grab one of them to throw the other person forward, but a kiss on her cheek makes the touch seem familiar and she manages to halt her body before doing anything drastic.  
“So, how serious is it then?”

She breathes out in relief as she feels some movement in the bed when Elara sits down.  
“Elara, you-  
Did you listen in on that?”

“Yes, I startled you and yes, I listened to some of it. I didn’t wish to interrupt you or embarrass you by suddenly intruding.”

Reezah moves her head sideways, but not too much, as she allows Elara to continue plant kisses along her cheek and jawline.  
“Eavesdropping on your commander isn’t proper, you know.” 

Elara stops her ministrations for now, smiling as she leans her chin down onto the Major’s shoulder.  
“Do you wish to discipline me for my actions, sir?”

Hearing this, Reezah can’t help but chuckle gently, moving a hand behind her to find one of Elara’s. It seems Elara might have had the same idea, as their hands intertwine almost immediately.  
“Maybe. I’d have to talk to my XO though, to see what advice she could give me.”

“I’m fairly certain that she would not tolerate such behavior. I could quote a dozen regulations that might suggest how dire such an act is, and how to best punish it too.” 

Reezah tilts her head so that their eyes can meet, seeing the amusement in Elara’s expression.  
“I see. You wanna whip one of those up right now, then?”

“I said I could, not that I would. Surely, you would know all of those codes as well.”  
Reezah shakes her head and then tries to lift a hand to ruffle Elara’s hair, which is currently set up in the usual bun she wears. She does her best to evade it, however.  
“Hey!”

“You can be pretty damn sly when you want to.” 

Elara raises her hands to her hair, making sure that it stays orderly.  
“Well, someone has to be in this squad. Sometimes, I feel as if you would all be in such a mess if I wasn’t here.”  
Moments after, Reezah turns to fully face her, wrapping one arm around her waist while the other cups her cheek. Reezah captures her lips in a tender but extensive kiss, stroking fingers gently up and down Elara’s back. In the meantime, Elara rests one hand at the Major’s shoulder, while the other strokes at her chest.  
When they separate to catch their breaths, Elara takes the chance to resume the conversation.  
“Your brother seems to be kind of blunt.”

Reezah snorts and shakes her head briefly.  
“Yeah, tell me about it. He’s nosy too, always wanting to know more about pretty much everything. I can’t tell him of Havoc, so I’ve had to distract him with tales of you.” 

Elara nods, but there’s a specific set of words that lingers in her mind.  
“I’m not…opposed to discussing such matters, by the way.”

“What matters?”

“Marriage and the like.”

Reezah blinks in surprise, but then straightens herself somewhat. Their hands are joined once more, while Elara awaits a retort.  
“Oh eh, I guess I wouldn’t mind talking about it either. I just haven’t thought of how to approach it.” 

“Do we really need any preamble to begin?” 

“No, not really, but…it’s quite a big step. There’s a lot to think about and we’re so busy with Havoc’s tasks at the moment.” 

Elara offers her a gentle and understanding smile.  
“I know, but we also have to consider the future. If we both survive this, there’s a lot of possibilities for us.”

Reezah have chosen to not think so much on the fact that they might not both come out alive from this war. Of course, she will strive past her own limits to make sure that it happens, but she’s not invincible. And what happens after that? The Republic might not even succeed either way, as difficult as it is for her to comprehend.  
What does she even want for the future?  
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

The silence looms over them for a while after that. Elara studies Reezah’s distant expression, but eventually decides to end it on her own.  
“When am I going to meet your brothers, though?” 

It appears to work, and she laughs shortly, seeing that it’s not just Gat who’s eager.  
“You’re pushing this as much as they are, I see.”

Elara is satisfied with the reaction, now leaning in closer to rest against her sturdier girlfriend.  
“I want to have the chance to meet your family. I know you’ve spoken of them from time to time but, it would be nice to finally see them too. I’d like to hear all those stories from their point of view.”

“Pfft. So basically, you just wanna hear embarrassing stories of me as a kid?”

She gains a small smirk from the Captain.  
“Among other things.”

“They’re not that interesting.”

“I’m certain your brothers would disagree.”

“Of course they would! Gat especially loves making me uncomfortable about all the stupid fights I got into as a kid. Although, I should probably add right now that they’ll be exaggerated.”

Elara leans her head against Reezah’s chest, while Reezah wraps an arm around her.  
“Sounds like fun to me. I don’t mind the fictional nature of them at all.”  
Her mind starts to drift towards her own past and her demeanor turns somewhat somber.  
“I mean, you already know so much about my family.”

Reezah feels how melancholy tries to settle itself in. Their discussions regarding the Dorne family have always been difficult, with a tension lurking in the background. She doesn’t want Elara to have to feel like that.  
Slowly and tenderly, she moves her hand around the bun of Elara’s hair, unwrapping it so that the hair spills out on Elara’s back. There is no resistance against this, and Reezah lets one of her hands caress it with a soft touch.  
“That’s true, but it doesn’t mean that it has to always be that way. Maybe we should invite your brother to our meetup with them as well? Could gather all of us there at the same time.”

Doubt flashes across her features. Reezah knows it’s not an easy topic, but they can’t avoid it either.  
“I’m not sure if Aleksei would agree to that.”

“Haven’t you talked to him about us?”  
They aren’t directly facing each other at this moment, but Reezah can still see how Elara opens her mouth, then closes it soon after.  
“Oh. Eh, I just assumed it would’ve come up at some point.”

“He knows we work together, but…I haven’t been entirely certain how I should approach the subject.”

On one hand, she can understand Elara’s hesitation. Both siblings have left all of their lives and their family’s history behind, for an ambiguous future in the Republic. On the other, she’s a little bit disappointed. She knows there’s not a chance that Elara would feel ashamed or anything similar about their relationship, but it’s difficult to keep out such thoughts.  
“Well, I suppose it might be best to not ask him to come right now. But hey, we could still do something like this in the future, right? Whatever he’s doing, he should know that there’s still a family for both of you here.  
The Hiktesh family may not be friendliest of all, but we know how to treat those close to us. If nothing else, Kevy is pretty good at cooking.”

Finally, she gets Elara to smile again, even snickering slightly. The Captain raises herself a bit and plants another kiss on Reezah’s cheek.  
“I believe we might both like that idea.”

Reezah’s expression at this response is almost radiant and she tilts her head to capture Elara in another kiss, when they suddenly hear static from the intercom speakers nearby. A rather familiar voice sounds through it.  
“Lieutenant Jorgan to Major Hiktesh. We’ve got a call incoming from Coruscant. Think another mission is heading our way.”

Both of them stop before they reach each other, and while Elara simply closes her eyes, Reezah lets out an irritated sigh. Bliss never lasts for long. She entangles herself, gets up from the bed and pushes a button close to the speakers.  
“Alright, I need to get some proper clothes on. Keep ‘em stalled for me.”

They hear a snort from him and then amusement in his voice.  
“Aye aye, sir.” 

Reezah turns to Elara and shrugs.  
“There’s always something.”

Elara starts wrapping her hair into a bun once more, giving the Major a smile in return.  
“That’s the life of Havoc.”


	8. Eternity in studies (JC)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Right so, now we get to a chapter with my Jedi Consular, the female miraluka Iron'zeranz. No, her name isn't supposed to be pronounced the same way the English word is. Anyway, if you wanna read her backstory or see some pictures, that link from the first chapter still applies._
> 
> _Iron is someone I have wanted to try to focus on a chapter with, to give her point of view, but I haven't had time until now. She's somewhat different from some of my other characters, although not in a bad way._   
>  _She's my only asexual character out of the main SWTOR ones, and also one that is somewhat...detached or disconnected as well._
> 
>   _Actually, I'm not sure that's the right word. It's not that she doesn't have feelings or whatever, she certainly does, but she has difficulties interacting with people and understanding them. I hesitate to call her "autistic", and not because I think that would be wrong, but because I'm not sure this is a fair representation of it. That's why I used "detached" instead. It also has to do with how both the Luka Sene and the Jedi taught her how to act, and she tried to hold onto those rather than her own emotions._  
>  _At this point, she's one of those Jedi that may stray closer towards "grey Jedi"._
> 
> _Anyhow, I'm trying to explore her more in this chapter._

Becoming a member of the Jedi Council wasn’t always the enjoyable privilege that Iron had believed it might be. Not that she ever thought it’d be easy to join their ranks, but some part of her both assumed and hoped it would give her a chance to expand her possibilities.  
The original reason for joining was obvious – she was doing her duty. It’s what she had done during the entire time while fighting for the order. From becoming its protector, to leading diplomatic efforts and later defeating its greatest enemies, she did all of this because it was expected of her. Sure, she was fascinated with testing herself and increasing her knowledge, but there was always the underlying reason which allowed her to fit in.

In her mind, people have always been difficult to comprehend. Her great potential spoken of in the past meant that others both anticipated greatness and feared her boundaries. The only way then, was trying to fit in, but as she rarely knew how to do so in social situations, merely being the Jedi that others wanted made it easier.  
When being invited into the Jedi Council though, she had expected this would mean that she could perhaps learn to take her own path, focus on the teachings she feels are more important. Unfortunately, she found that others were often in disagreement with her conclusions on how to tackle the war, the Empire and various matters in the galaxy, constricting her to being nothing more than a contrarian.

The Sith were the enemy, she understood this point of view, but why then were the Jedi so reluctant to utilize the knowledge at offer to combat this enemy?  
Iron found their lack of curiosity in studying other parts of the Force to be lackluster and a shortcoming. She had suggested trying to invite such groups as the Voss or the other different Force groups, who strive towards another direction. It is possible that they would see the Empire as their enemy as well, as the Sith were so eager to conquer and enslave. And if they always return, despite the Jedi’s best efforts to destroy them, then wouldn’t it be prudent to ask for more insight?

Today, yet again, she finds resistance among the few members of the Council who are gathered. While several are out on a whole range of assignments, Grand Master Satele Shan, Jaric Kaedan, Bela Kiwiiks and Oric Traless answered the call for this meeting, when Satele had asked to discuss their activities in the war and how they should proceed.  
Iron had decided to raise the idea of learning more from the Voss, but none among them had shown any agreement.  
Jaric had been the fiercest, just like the last time she joined the Voss with the Rift Alliance. Even so, the three who remained were just as skeptical.

Bela set her eyes upon Iron, contemplating the request but then sighs and shakes her head slightly.  
“I’m sorry, master Iron, but I must agree with master Jaric. They have a…curious view of the Force, but it would be dangerous to try to utilize them in that fashion.”

Satele nods briefly.  
“Even after they decided to shut both the Republic and the Empire off, there is still the danger they show of flickering in between. While there is no need for hostilities against them, it would be unwise for them to help train the Jedi in a path that might tilt us to the dark side.”

Oric doesn’t say much but shows that he stands with the other. Iron folds her arms, watching them all, one by one. It was the same as the few previous times she’s had the chance to speak of this.  
“I understand your hesitation, when the Jedi has fought only with the light on our side for so long, but the fact that we cannot defeat the dark, is that not proof enough that we must change?”

Satele tilts her head while working out an answer. As much as she and Iron disagreed on a lot of points, at least she remained respectful and open-minded.  
“That is a possibility, of course, but others might also say that there is a balance in the Force that we can only strive towards by adhering to our principles. If we stray too much from it, everything may collapse below us.”

“I see your point, master Satele, but I disagree. The balance you speak of only seem to help continuing an endless conflict. The Voss, for example, give us the opportunity to explore something that might bring actual balance in the galaxy, by removing the conflict altogether.”

Jaric snorts derisively.  
“By following their view of things? They are not better than the Sith, master Iron, trying to rule their people with their so called ‘visions’.”

Despite the argument and Jaric’s irritated tone, Iron’s voice remains serene.  
“Have you been to Voss, master Jaric? They do not rule their people, they guide them and successfully so. They stopped the Empire’s invasion, not through might but through perception and a deep understanding of the Force. They do not seek the power and dominion which the Sith strive towards.”

Oric leans back in his seat, raising a hand to stroke his chin in thought.  
“And yet, questioning a mystic appears almost as heresy for them.”

“That is because their visions are not mistaken, only the interpretation of them.”

Iron doesn’t need to see expressions to be able to feel the concern in the other Councilors minds from her certainty.  
Bela clears her throat before she speaks.  
“You…have spent a lot of time among them, master Iron, so I respect your greater understanding for them. I have not had much chance to speak to them myself.”

“I am sure they would welcome your questions, if you would wish to take the opportunity to investigate. I could help guide you in this endeavor as well.”

Bela smiles gently and nods.  
“That would be interesting, yes. Although, I still say that we should be cautious.”

Satele puts her hands together over the table, glancing between the two.  
“As do I. I’m sorry, master Iron, but their words are not ideal for our own teachings.”

Iron wonders if this is one of the failings of the Jedi, of lacking the will to grasp at a greater awareness of the Force, or if she simply does not fit into the workings of the light. Even in her youth with the Luka Sene, her mind often wandered outside of the way they tried to educate her. Their fear of the dark and of straying beyond the light’s borders is something she just haven’t been able to comprehend. It merely restricts and limits them unnecessarily.  
Is her wish to continue tapping the fountain of knowledge simply the wrong path? Or is her place not among the structures of this part of the galaxy?  
She needs meditation, and different company at this time, to clear her mind.

 

* * *

 

After spending the rest of the meeting mostly in silence, Iron strolls down towards the living quarters in the Jedi temple, specifically towards the corridor where her own room is located. It isn’t large, but space has never been a concern for most Jedi, which is the same for her.  
She senses presences within, although she already knew they would be waiting. The door is closed, but Iron’s natural force sight allows her to see what occurs within anyhow.  
She spots the aura of her padawan, Nadia, currently focusing on the Force, trying to make items float around her. From the way her mind shimmers, Iron assumes she’s enjoying herself.  
To the side, by one of the walls, she also spots her trusted companion, Qyzen, who’s been with her for a longer time than any other person she’s met in the past. He may adhere to his own reasons and beliefs, but Iron has always appreciated the fact that he can stand to be with her at all times. Few others can.

Even with Nadia, it is not that easy. She knows that the young sarkhai respects her, but perhaps doesn’t always understand her mannerisms. Not that Iron would blame her for that, as few people do. Still, Iron keeps striving to do her very best when teaching her padawan.  
Iron’s own time as a pupil was a strange and unorthodox time. In the Luka Sene, she often argued with her teachers, even if she did not specifically seek an argument. They were wary of the possibility that she may be lured by the dark side, even if she has never recognized their worries. The supposed temptations are not what matters to her, only the knowledge it may yield. One doesn’t need to become cruel simply by studying, yes?  
With the Jedi and master Yuon Par, it turned out differently, but not quite positive either. She had been tested almost as soon as she had been done with her trials. The way she dealt with it had aided Iron in establishing her limits and gained the respect and position she has today, but it was not really what one might expect of a useful time as a student.

This is why Iron feels it is important that she does her best to give Nadia a different experience. She wants Nadia to be tested and expand her skills and control of the Force, but at the same time tries to shield her from any trials of life and death. At least for now.  
It isn’t something Iron can quite explain, but being a teacher feels a lot more…comforting than most other activities she indulges in. Iron’s favorite pastimes mostly involves meditation, studying and training, all of which she can do in solitude. Anything outside of those realms is usually something she only performs if she has to. For whatever reason, tutoring Nadia has become the first social endeavor which she freely enjoys doing.  
Perhaps it is simply something with Nadia’s presence that gives a sense of comfort, or maybe it is the curiosity and eagerness which Nadia displays, that she appreciates.  
There is also the fact that Nadia is the first one to actually listen completely to Iron and follow what she has to say. That is new to her, something she hasn’t explored before. Is it a sign that being a teacher is her true calling?  
Either way, Iron can honestly say that she likes Nadia and even feels pride in whatever accomplishments she achieves.

However, right now, she must utilize something stricter.  
She takes steps closer to the door, letting it slide open before she speaks.  
“Having fun?”

Nadia gasps, quickly turning her head towards Iron.  
“M-master!”

In her surprise, she loses control of the items which floats around her, but this was something that Iron had anticipated. She lifts her right hand slightly, at the same time as Nadia faces her, capturing them all before making them return to their original position.  
“I thought I asked you to study the texts I gave you, while I attended my meeting.”

She doesn’t sound angry, and she isn’t, but Nadia appears embarrassed anyhow.  
“I…I know. I was erm, doing just that before you arrived but…I thought I needed a little break.”

The older trandoshan on the side emits a snort as he shakes his head.  
“She got bored quickly after you left. The little one doesn’t like studying.”

Nadia swiftly shifts her gaze to him instead, not particularly satisfied with the truth being discovered.  
“…not fair, Qyzen!”

Iron watches the discarded datapad, still lying by the low table which Nadia was sitting by previously. After a moment, she sighs and turns her head towards the trandoshan.  
“Qyzen, could you leave us for a while? I need to speak with Nadia in private.”

He doesn’t hesitate, moving away from the wall and then bowing his head shortly.  
“As you wish, Herald.”

After he has left the room, letting the door close behind him, Iron moves over to the table again.  
“Nadia, I hope you realize I’m not giving you these to punish you.”

Nadia lowers her gaze and her shoulders slump slightly as well.  
“Yes, I know, master.”

“They are useful tools, carrying information and knowledge which can help expand your understanding of the Force.”

“Maybe…but couldn’t you just teach me that directly as well?”

Iron lifts the datapad, tilting it around in her hands, feeling its texture more than actually looking at the screen.  
“I could, but that would take a substantial amount of time.”

“Well, don’t most Jedi learn through meditation, discussions and practical lessons? I’ve seen a lot of students out there who seem to do just that.”

Iron’s vision shifts away from the room, peering at the wall, allowing herself to look through it and see the contours of the Force which makes up students out in the courtyard. From their movement, it appears they’re sparring.  
“I believe that depends on the master. Even as initiates, we are taught that it is just one stage of our studies. In a way, we continue doing so even as we become fully fledged Jedi. Life is all about expanding one’s knowledge.”

Others might disagree, but it has always been one of Iron’s core principles. Even information which is seen as forbidden, could have some kind of value, working as a deterrent for example.  
Nadia looks skeptical when she peers at Iron. She knows now that the miraluka see differently from others, which makes it less weird for her when Iron sometimes just stares out into nothing.  
“But, how were you taught then? I mean…other than with master Yuan.”

Iron slowly turns back to Nadia, placing arms behind her back.  
“Master Yuan did not get much of a chance to teach me to begin with. Her words did mean a lot to me, though.  
Most of the tutors I communicated with was back on Alpheridies.”

“With the, erm…”

Nadia scowls in thought, trying to recall the name. Iron gives her a few seconds, before she takes over.  
“The Luka Sene.”

“Yes! Those guys.”

“They did aid me in my time as a student, yes, but the Jedi had offered me a place among them at an early stage as well. They had a small temple in one of our larger cities. I split much of it between them, seeing what philosophies and knowledge they had to offer.  
To get back to your original question though, I did a lot of reading and meditated. Despite all the lessons and words of wisdom from my masters, I often found more comfort among the files, physical books and scrolls that libraries and archives had stored.”

The answer doesn’t seem to satisfy Nadia, but she appears reluctant to complain as well.  
“I…understand that’s how you preferred to go about it, but I’m just not as efficient with texts. Maybe it’ll take longer, as you say, but I’d like it if you just continue instructing me.”

Iron strokes one of her thumbs at the top of the datapad, considering the request.  
“You don’t find me boring to listen to, then?”

“No! Not at all, master. You’re so calm and thorough whenever you speak. I find it really soothing, actually.”

“Not so much that you fall asleep, I hope.”

Nadia suddenly snickers a bit, although Iron hadn’t technically meant it as a joke.  
“That’s not what I meant! I just feel relaxed and that my mind opens up more easily when I can listen to you.”  
She begins to fidget a bit with her hands, smiling faintly as she does.  
“My powers are still so…unstable, but your words help me a lot. Your meditation techniques help bring an order to the Force that I’ve never been able to grasp at before.”

Iron somehow feel relieved and even strangely happy to hear Nadia actually liking to spend time with her. It is something she hadn’t considered.  
Leaving the datapad on the table again, she moves over to Nadia’s position and sits down in front of her padawan, folding her legs below her.  
“Hmm, this is…intriguing. I was actually getting worried a while back, that I was going too hard on you.”

Nadia blinks in confusion.  
“What? Why would you say that?”

“Well, as I said, I preferred studying in solitude and reading on my own time above interaction with others. I suppose I should have reflected upon the idea that we may not absorb information the same way. That is why my assumption of you wanting to be alone as well, was false.”

Nadia smiles again, this time somewhat wider.  
“You don’t have to worry about going too hard on me, master. I enjoy our time together a lot and I think you’re a great teacher. Others have tried in the past but they didn’t understand me, not in the way you do. I couldn’t possibly complain when you’ve shown me that progress is reachable.”

Once more, she’s glad to hear what impact she has on her student. That previously unknown sense of pride returns to her, that she’s able to aid Nadia. Another part of her figures it might just be that she feels good about succeeding to tutor someone, but she doesn’t make any set conclusions just yet.  
Then again, she can’t be all too lenient.  
“Hmm, this makes it sound as if I may be going a bit too easy on you then. Perhaps I shall have to utilize some stricter methods in the future.”

Nadia’s expression changes, suddenly looking more troubled instead.  
“O-oh eh, that’s not…quite what I meant, master. I mean, you are erm, of course quite tough enough as it is and-“

“Nadia, that was a joke”, she says, while appearing completely unfazed. It is said so casually and humorlessly, but she doesn’t actually know how to express it in any other way.  
Nadia stares at her master for several moments, then suddenly burst out into a loud laugh. Iron folds her arms.  
“It’s a bit late to laugh now.”

“No, I-  
I’m not trying to-“  
Nadia tries to get the words out, but her laughter chokes any communication she attempts. She has always found her master’s placid manner to be more funny when she tells jokes or something similar, rather than the jokes themselves.  
Instead of explaining this however, she waits until she has managed to steady herself before she embraces Iron in a gentle hug.  
“I love you, master.”

Iron is somewhat surprised at both the hug and the phrase, not too used to people trying to be physical with her. Still, it’s pleasant enough and she returns the gesture the best she can.  
“I am glad I can be here for you, Nadia.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I do really like writing Nadia and Iron together. The two of them are quite different from one another, which makes it fun when they interact. Ktila/Kira and Zal/Jaesa are both more like, friends rather than master and student. Even with Val/Ashara, they appear more as sisters, which makes Nadia and Iron's relationship special to me._


	9. An agent's woes (IA)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This is kind of like a "day in the life of Cierah" thing. I could've done this earlier but eh, i feel it's more interesting when they've all been together for a while._   
>  _Also, I know that the canon is sort of like, that Cipher Nine hands the Black Codex to the Minister of Intelligence, the Sith or Ardun, but I don't feel these are particularly close to any of the paths that Cierah would pursue. She probably gave the Minister a small bit of access for a time, but took most of it on her own. That is the conclusion here, anyway._

Having spent so many months together on the Phantom, one would think that Cierah and her crew got along rather well. Even Cierah sometimes thinks there must be something wrong, because she still feels as if there’s always a measure of weirdness to their associations. Partially, she figures it might just be her, for she doesn’t get the same kind of attachment and camaraderie as many others in teams like this. Even back in the Scarlet Wardens, she saw this as a problem and sometimes made efforts to improve her social skills.  
For some reason, that felt a lot more plausible to achieve back in the military, years ago. The crew of the Phantom may just be…different, perhaps. They certainly don’t make it easy for her.  
  


* * *

  
Morning.  
Cierah is on her way towards the kitchen, as is usually the first stop for her after checking that she’s alive and getting dressed. While she always maintains an exterior which appears as if she’s unfazed, she tends to feel dead in the morning until she’s had a cup of Kaas tea. It’s been a ritual since her childhood. She’s had to adapt when she’s been on long-term missions and such, but goes back into it as soon as she returns.

Because of this, she feels as if her mind is exploding when she walks by Kaliyo’s cabin. They’ve made sure to isolate each cabin so that noise doesn’t reach out to the rest of the ship and disturb anyone, but the rattataki has the unfortunate habit of just keeping her door open. At this time, Cierah can hear music blazing out of it, along with strange hissing noises. Against her better judgement, she decides to investigate.

What she steps into is not what she had anticipated. In fact, she’s so shocked at first that no sound exits her mouth.  
She can see how Kaliyo is moving about her room with some kind of can in her hand. From it, she’s currently spraying some sort of blue color onto the floor. At the same time, an orb-shaped droid is doing the same by the far wall, but with red shades instead.  
Cierah thinks to speak at first, but doesn’t want to yell so early in the morning. She doubts she’d even be able to outdo the speakers.

After shutting off the music, some kind of electronic tune, Kaliyo raises an angry gaze towards Cierah. When noticing who it is, her expressions softens.  
“Oh, hey agent. Why did you shut it off?”

Cierah doesn’t share her look, but instead focuses on the markings all across the cabin.  
“What…in the Emperor’s name is going on here?”

Kaliyo smiles proudly and rises to her feet, wiping her hands across her shirt. Seems it has got a lot of stains right now.  
“Pretty cool, isn’t it?”

While scanning the room with her organic eye, she sees all sorts of marks and symbols she doesn’t recognize. Some look like those she’s seen from gang signs on Nar Shaddaa, while others look like cartoonish figures and different beasts around the galaxy. Many of them are of quite varied styles, which feels odd to Cierah, especially if Kaliyo has painted all of this on her own.  
“…what is all this? What are you doing?”

“Well, you know, thought I’d redecorate the place.”

“Without my consent?”

Kaliyo arches an eyebrow in her direction.  
“Why would I need that?

“Because this is _my ship_. I’d prefer to know what happens here, before something is done.”

“Sure, but it’s my room. Were you planning on handing it to someone else any time soon?”

Cierah finally faces her and frowns somewhat.  
“Well…no, but-“

“Then stop whining.”  
She sits back down on the floor.  
“This ship could need a bit of brushing up anyway. Things are so fucking sterile in here.”

Cierah frown deepens. She wouldn’t call it that, even if others might do. She’d prefer the terms ‘clean’ and ‘orderly’. The Phantom is very neatly and sparsely decorated and she prefers it that way.  
“When did you even start with this? Have you made all of these on your own?”

Kaliyo shakes her head.  
“Nope. Just some of the simpler ones. My artistic skills are a bit rusty, so I’m taking it easy for now. I programmed the ball over there with some basic painting applications and imprinted it with images I liked from the holonet. It just copies them. Makes my job quicker, anyway.”

After gazing at the mess across the room, she raises a hand to rub at the temple of her nose.  
“…I need tea.”

As she attempts to leave, Kaliyo calls out for her.  
“Oh hey, agent! Before you go, I had some other ideas for the ship.”

Cierah keeps walking.  
“I don’t want to hear it.”

“C’mon! It has to do with the ship name! Let’s change it to something with a little bit more personality!”

Not stopping, she decides to shut Kaliyo’s door on her own, before she finally exits.  
  


* * *

  
Breakfast.  
Cierah often has porridge and tea in the morning, feeling it invigorates her more than most other meals. It’s not too heavy and she enjoys the taste, possibly because she’s been having it for so long.  
She tends to prefer eating alone, and most of the crew has come to respect that. Then again, she does a lot of things in solitude, except working.

It seems this day provides even more interruptions however, as she notices how Vector walks into the kitchen. In his hands, she can see a basket. He stops on the other side of the metallic table she’s sitting by, and plants it gently onto the surface. Both of them wait until she has properly chewed and swallowed the contents of her mouth.  
“Vector.”

“Cierah.”  
He tilts his head and surveys her appearance with his black eyes. When they first met, she found those eyes somewhat perplexing and a little bit disturbing. Now however, they’re a source of normalcy on the Phantom.  
“You seem…tired this morning.”

She isn’t sure exactly how he notices this, as she tries to keep herself steady, but he often has other ways.  
“You can blame Kaliyo for that. She’s been creating chaos inside her cabin.”

“Ah, yes, we heard a lot of noises. We thought it was best to leave her to her devices, however.”

Cierah snorts, shaking her head. Sometimes she feels it would be best if she weren’t in charge, so she wouldn’t have to deal with it all.  
“I see. What’s in the basket?”

He gives her a brief smile and then opens up the lid. Inside, she can see several glass cylinders with some kind of white or even yellowish liquid. They aren’t large and there appears to be at least a dozen of them within.  
“These are extracts from within the remainders of our hatchling's eggs. It is often preserved by the nest and utilized for the young and sometimes the weakened, to give a revitalizing effect. However, we have also been told that it can be a very exotic ingredient in alcoholic beverages.”

Cierah arches an eyebrow, wondering if the killik take everything they can from what their bodies produce. She remembers the orb she was given back on Aldeeran. Effective but…not the most common of offerings.  
“Hmm, and why are you showing me this?”

He lifts one of them and sets it down in front of her, not far from her own cup.  
“We figured you might wish to try one at some point. You are important to us and the nest, so we wish to share our bounties with you.”

She’s been given things from him before, so it’s not like she’d adverse to it.  
“I…well, thank you.”

“You are welcome, Cierah. You may take another, if you wish, to hand as a gift to your companion.”

That piques her interest even more, not having thought of it herself.  
“Is that common? To give people these as gifts?”

“We do not know, but we have a feeling she may appreciate it at any rate. She is important to you, and therefore important to us.”

Cierah smiles slightly, although she’s not certain if he’s correct. In fact, Jovana may feel it’s very strange, to drink something produced by the bodies killik children. That just makes it a whole lot more fun to watch.  
She takes another and nods in appreciation to him.  
“Thank you again, Vector, I believe I shall do just that the next time I see her.”  
  


* * *

  
Just before lunch.  
Having done some work by the terminals, Cierah decided to have a short work out before lunch. That isn’t as much of a daily routine, but something that changes depending on her mood. Today, she felt all too tense and therefore moved it on her schedule.  
After having a shower as well, she proceeds to her cabin in mostly her underwear, as she needs to look for more clothes.  
When she enters, there’s another bump in the road of her day, as Scorpio stands right in the middle of her floor.

Irritation attempts to settle in, but Cierah forces herself to relax. Even so, there’s a scowl on her face, and she throws the wet towel over her shoulder.  
“…what are you doing here, Scorpio?”

“Ah, Draconius. I figured you would come eventually.”

She rolls her eye and folds her arms as the door closes behind her.  
“Well yes, this _is_ my room.”

“So it is.”

Cierah gives the interior a quick glance, making sure that nothing is moved or otherwise damaged. Seems everything is in the place it should be, so far.  
“And why are you in here? I don’t recall giving you permission to enter.”

“I let myself in, of course. I’ve been trying to improve upon my capabilities while you gave me access to most of the ship’s computers.”

This is a decision that Cierah is still contemplating. She trusts Scorpio…to a degree. They work well together, and can achieve much. It’s also likely that she’ll need the droid in the future, against everything that their enemies can send their way. But there are limits, mostly to what Scorpio’s motives and goals are. Sure, she shares some views with the agent, but Cierah sincerely doubts it is fully honest.  
“That does not explain your presence in here.”

“Then let me continue. I know that you have implanted much of the Black Codex into the ship, but I noticed a distinct lack of the core, in what levels I was able to examine. I searched and managed to find the location of the mainframe – it is here, in this room.”

She should’ve figured that Scorpio would try to go even deeper at some point. Perhaps she was just hoping the droid would get the hint.  
“This is true, because it is under my control.”

Scorpio had been facing a wall, just staring blankly into it, but finally turns to face her. Those eerie unblinking yellow eyes peers right into her only one. In many ways, Cierah figures there should be some understanding between them, as she is also part robotic. Instead, it feels as if it just increases the tension between them.  
“Then give me full access. With my mind fully imprinted upon its programming, its utilities will come to far more use.”

Cierah lifts the towel and throws it over at a nearby chair.  
“No.”

The droid can’t actually frown, with the body she has been given, otherwise she would’ve done so right now.  
“And why not?”

“Because there is a lot of crucial information within its databanks, ones that I will not allow admittance to so easily. That includes this entire crew.”

“I do not think you understand, Draconius. You are alone at this point, with only your closest companions as a safety net. Many enemies await you out there, and they have a large amount of resources at their disposal. In the future, you will need me at my highest and most efficient level, to combat all manner of threats. I am this ship’s best defense. For this to function correctly, I will need full access to the Black Codex. Grant it to me, and all my abilities are at your disposal.”

There is merit and interest to what Scorpio offers. If Cierah was another woman, she probably would’ve taken it without hesitation. Unfortunately, a lot has changed.  
“I am sorry, Scorpio, but the answer is still no. The Codex remains in my possession.”  
Scorpio stares, perhaps even glares if she could, for a long moment before she finally starts walking. She heads straight for the door, without another word.  
Cierah sighs and turns to follow her just with her eye.  
“This doesn’t mean that I won’t give you access elsewhere, Scorpio. You and I can still work together for security overall. It is simply that this one thing…is something I cannot give you.”

Scorpio stops outside of the room, waiting.  
“We shall see.”  
  


* * *

  
Afternoon.  
Thankfully, she found another few hours of silence and were able to continue working on everything that was awaiting her attention. She isn’t even assigned to the Empire anymore, and while some contacts remain, she has disappeared completely for most. That doesn’t stop her tasks from piling up however – the Empire still needs her expertise and not to mention how much is stored on the Black Codex which she needs to examine.

However, her time is not always her own and another member of her crew needs to speak with her at this time. Cierah enters the room dedicated to Doctor Lokin’s medical facilities, where both he and Cierah’s close subordinate, Raina, is waiting. They’re both deeply transfixed by one terminal screen each and does not notice her enter.  
“Doctor, Raina, you called for me?”

Raina twitches in surprise and quickly rises to attention, while Lokin merely looks up and smiles at her.  
“Ah, Cipher! Good to see that you could come, my friend.”

She waves for Raina to sit down again, which she does, before Cierah proceeds further inside.  
“You said it was important, so I could not exactly ignore it.”

“Yes, of course, but I know you have a lot of other crucial work to focus on, so I wasn’t sure when you’d get here.”

Cierah arches one of her eyebrows and folds her arms.  
“I hope you’re not saying that you called me here just to see if it was possible.”

Lokin chuckles briefly while Raina shakes her head.  
“No sir, that was not our intention.”  
That may not have been Raina’s intent, but Cierah suspects the Doctor probably had it in mind.  
“We do have information which is of interest to you.”

Lokin nods and begins looking for a holoprojector.  
“Indeed, something that I managed to find by searching through some of Intelligence’s old channels and data funnels.”

He seems to have a lot of those, from what Cierah can recall during their travels together. There’s always something he’s been able to pluck from somewhere.  
“Very well, Doctor, I’m interested. Proceed.”

While Lokin puts down a portable projector on the table, Raina connects to it with her terminal and soon enough, a lot of data starts scrolling down through a hologram. A holographic image shapes a droid figure that Raina gazes up and focuses on.  
“After Doctor Lokin came to me, we began to search for an imperial ship that had gone missing several years back. It was apparently holding important military resources and by scouring a manifest, we found this.”

Cierah surveys the hologram and tilts her head.  
“I recognize that appearance from other Intelligence files. That is an HK-model droid, is it not?”

Lokin smiles once more.  
“Correct! HK-51, to be precise.”

“51? I was not aware that any new series had been produced after 50.”

“Nor did we, until very recently. We’ve yet to find who is responsible for this shipment, other than that it was manufactured by the Czerka corporation, despite the ban, and that it was meant for the Empire.”

Raina glances down and taps away at her terminal.  
“The ship was known as ‘Fatality’, and its intended destination had been one of the colonies, where they would be inspected and sent out on various missions. It never arrived.”

“This was several decades back however, during the last war.”

Cierah looks skeptical again.  
“So, you’re saying that you’re searching for a ship that has been gone for ages and no one else has located?”

Lokin smirks and winks at her.  
“Exciting, isn’t it?”

Raina turns to face her, placing arms on the table, at the sides of the terminal.  
“We know this may be a farfetched endeavor, sir, but we would still like to explore it. We would not do so without your permission, of course.”

Cierah shifts her eye towards Raina and lifts a hand to stroke her chin. On board this ship, it’s Raina and Vector, to a certain extent, that she trusts the most.  
“Hmm. I suppose I can see the advantage. HK droids would be valuable for the Empire, whether they’re functional or not.”  
Not to mention, for her as well. If they actually manage to get one working, it could be very useful to utilize.  
“Alright, you have my agreement on this assignment. However, I expect you both to take all the necessary precautions which surrounds a pursuit like this. I do not want to see any mistakes.”

Raina salutes her.  
“Yes sir!”

Lokin merely smiles and nods.  
“You have my word, Cipher. I’ll dig deeper around my other contacts. We will find those droids.”  
  


* * *

  
Evening.  
At this time of the day, Cierah often tries to find a few hours to relax. Sometimes she merely listens to some music or reads a novel; at other occasions, she tries certain physical exercises which maintain a more slow and soothing pace. This day just can’t be normal, it seems.

That said, she doesn’t feel bad about what she has to do now, but rather that it’s an important diversion. As she waits with her arms folded on her chair by the terminal, someone finally comes and knocks on her door.  
“Enter.”

Raina soon walks inside, dressed in something less formal – a loose red shirt and comfortable black leggings. At daytime, both of them still return to their uniforms. Old habits die hard.  
She fidgets with her hands for a second.  
“You wanted to see me, sir?”

Cierah nods and motions at the only other chair she has, by the opposite wall. There’s still quite a bit of space within her cabin however, as she rarely feels the need to fill it up.  
“Have a seat.”  
She waits until Raina follows her instructions and then loosens her position somewhat.  
“Raina, I wanted to speak about your…abilities, for a bit.”

Uncertainty flares through her eyes momentarily, but she tries to calm herself.  
“I…see. Was there anything specific?”

“Well, in a way. I know you utilize them to a small extent whenever you can, but you’ve mentioned that they are rather…unstable?”

She sighs briefly and nods.  
“Yes, to say the least. As I’ve said before, I was never trained. And I…I don’t want to be more trouble than necessary.”

When they first met, Cierah was watching Raina’s every move. This was not personal, as she treats everyone she meets with some initial suspicion. They need to earn her trust and few ever do. She can probably count the number of people she trusts completely on one hand.  
For whatever reason though, Raina has managed to worm her way past Cierah’s defenses and placed herself in that important part of the senior agent’s heart. Cierah feels responsible for Raina’s success and welfare. It’s the first person she has ever mentored and she knows how important such an experience is; there’s no space for screwing up or everything might crumble.  
“if…if there is a possibility for you to actually attend to your abilities, to be given the opportunity to hone them, would you take it?”

Raina appears surprised at her question and hesitates with her response for a few seconds.  
“I…I don’t know. I’m not even sure that is possible at this stage.”

“Neither do I. The Force isn’t among my areas of expertise, but I have contacts. One in particular is someone that has been taught by the Sith Academy, but has now fallen outside of the Empire’s boundaries. I believe they can be persuaded to help you. If you want to, that is.”

The junior agent begins to fidget with her clothes instead, looking down onto the floor. This is an important decision and Cierah doesn’t wish to rush her. Still, it needs to be spoken of.  
“…I need time, sir. Time to consider all of it.”

“Of course, I understand. I can even hand you some information about the Sith in question, so that you can learn who they are. Might help you out somewhat.”

“I would appreciate that.”

She tilts herself forward and tries to meet Raina’s eyes.  
“No need to rush this, Raina. Give it some thought and come back to me whenever you’re ready.”

She feels relief when Raina offers her a small smile and nods curtly.  
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”  
She rises from the seat and takes steps towards the door but then stops before exiting and turns halfway back around.  
“And…thank you for letting this be my decision.”

While it rarely happens, Cierah spares her one of the few smiles she gives certain people.  
“Anytime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Basically, everyone calls Cierah by a different name._


	10. Where honor stands (BH)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Time for some mandalorian stuff._

As the hatch of the Blood Fist gradually opens up, Jovana checks that her gauntlets are properly fastened and that the weapon compartments attached to them are locked and in standby mode. It’s been a long time since she had any accidents, but it’s always best to be sure. The mistakes just gave her more reason to always check an extra time. 

“Nervous?”

She tilts her head to peer sideways at Mako standing by her side and then shrugs in response.  
“Nah, it’s not like this is our first time here.” 

Mako smiles wryly and folds her arms.  
“True, but we weren’t in such a big mess on our last visit.”

“Tsk, thanks for pointing that out.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

Jov shakes her head, although she’s still amused by Mako’s behavior. As she strides forward when the road is clear for them, she turns to her other side, where Torian is walking.  
“What about you, Cadera? Ready to do this?”

Torian nods curtly, appearing to be just as calm as she is. Meaning that there’s some small bit of trepidation that they both try to hide.  
“Of course, I’m always ready.”

“Even if he might want to knock you out? Maybe he thinks you’ve just gone your father’s route now, when following me into this mess.”

“He would’ve done that already.”

Jov starts to chuckle for a moment.  
“Good point. I guess he’d rather punch me anyway.”

As they start to approach the closed blast doors that leads out from the hangar, Mako throws a glance over her shoulder.  
“You really think it was a good idea to leave Gault in charge of the ship, though?”

“Ah, don’t worry. He won’t do anything stupid.”

Mako turns a skeptical gaze at her.  
“What makes you say that?”

“Because Skadge is still on the ship and Gault wouldn’t want to run away together with that guy.”

“He might just trick that asshole to go with him.”

“Well, since Skadge hates him more than anyone else onboard, that sounds like an unlikely turn of events.”  
She glances at Mako again, trying to pat her shoulder.  
“If it makes you feel any safer, I can always tell them to secure the outer blast doors. Then they won’t be going anywhere.”

“I think that’s better than leaving them be, yes.”

Jov smiles and winks.  
“Anything for you.”

Mako smirks back at her, but says nothing as they approach the guards who meet them. It’s been a while since Jovana saw any other mandalorians, but it feels good to be around them again. She’s really starting to get that sense of camaraderie which she hasn’t felt anywhere. Not even the old gangs could compare to what it’s like to be Mando’ade. Maybe with her crew, but she sees them more like her family than her people.  
“Champion, welcome back to the Spirit of Vengeance. Mandalore said you’d be coming around at some point.”

Jov stops and folds her arms.  
“Yup. Is he busy?” 

“Not for you. Follow us.”

The plan had previously been to stick around the mandalorian homeworld for a while, but Jovana hadn’t felt sure enough to go there, without actually knowing how Mandalore’s own opinion of her doings the past few months. If she was on the wrong side of the big guy, then surely the rest of that world would turn against them. Well, not that he’s that kind of leader but, she hasn’t seen him in a while anyway and it might be nice to finally have a chat after all this time. She’s getting kinda tired of hiding anyway. 

As they walk through the next few corridors, they see many more mandalorians gathered of all sorts. Many of them wear different kind of colored armors and markings, representing variety of clans but on top of this, many also carry their own individual additions. It can be everything from a few scratch marks to something they’ve painted or just trophies from battle. Jov has a few of those on her own red and white armor, although they don’t represent anything in particular. They’re mementos, perhaps, just like her tattoos. Always good to have a few.  
It’s not just humans among these groups either, of course. They spot several trandoshans, weequay, a few chagrians, houk, togruta and twi’lek, and even duros as well as a gand. There may be others too, but most have their helmets on. 

Seeing who walks among them, many of the mandalorians turn and nudge each other, pointing in Jov’s direction. At first it’s just whispers, but then a few raises closed fists up in the air or to their chests in salutes. A voice from one of the warriors call out too.  
“Champion!”

More of them continue after that.  
“Good to see you, Champion!”

“Welcome back to the fight!”

Some call out in Mando’a as well, but she’s still not all too familiar with it to understand everything.  
Jov smiles and simply raises her hand shortly in greeting. She doesn’t recognize any of these people, figuring that none of them are from clan Lok. She’s not particularly comfortable with being some kind of celebrity, but a wave or two probably won’t hurt.  
The walk eventually takes them past all of these gathered warriors and into a smaller area, but not exactly tiny either. A lot of terminals and holographic projectors are set in here, appearing to be some kind of command center. By a large table in the middle, with holograms that looks like planets and ships, she spots at least a dozen armored figures surrounding it. One of them is the familiar appearance of Mandalore the Vindicated. He notices her too and spares her a short nod, but they understand he’s still busy with his meeting. Interestingly, they speak in Basic right now.

“We’ll be attacking at these planetary coordinates once that Republic patrol has gone past the northern hemisphere. Their response will be slower and we can assert our position before they get to it.”

A strategic show then. Well, they are at war. A female twi’lek with dark blue skin and a few long scars over her left cheek peers at him.  
“Mandalore, Darth Malgus had sent us a message just before this meeting. He wants us to strike at sector 17-B as well. He thinks we should be able to do both, which will allow his own force to get the Republic into a flanking position.” 

Mandalore gazes at her and then back at the holograms, snickering shortly. Despite the reaction, Jov thinks she can spot some kind of suspicion in his eyes.  
“Of course he does. Unfortunately, I don’t deem us to be that expendable. He can handle that area without us jeopardizing our entire plan.”

She doesn’t seem to disagree, but has to speak the message.  
“He also thinks we should strike sooner than your plan.”

Mandalore snorts.  
“Two days isn’t soon enough for him? I wonder if Sith have no concept of patience.”

While the other people around her remain silent, Jov smirks and places her hands at her hips before speaking up.  
“Maybe someone should take him on a hunt. That’ll teach him all about it.” 

The rest of the warriors quickly turn to stare at her, almost glaring for her interruption. Mandalore grins however.  
“Perhaps.”  
He then peers back at the twi’lek.  
“Tell Lord Malgus that we will strike when I feel it is necessary. You may relay the entire message of that we’ll stick to our previous decision as well.”

She nods in respect.  
“Yes, Mandalore.”

A helmeted warrior grunts slightly while he glances at the holograms.  
“Dunno if that’s a good idea, Mandalore. Some of our warriors are getting restless. They could use a good battle like the one this Sith suggests.”

Mandalore shakes his head.  
“I like a good battle too, my friend, but I’m not a fan of slaughters if they’re aimed at us. I am sure you all feel the same.”  
No one responds.  
“In any case, there is no need to feel restless. Tell our warriors to prepare themselves, for they will get the battle they crave soon enough. This planet has shown to have a great resistance and only those worthy will be able to gain glory against them.”  
That seems to get more appreciation at least. The meeting doesn’t last much longer, and when it’s done, he dismisses them, along with the guards that accompanied Jov.  
When he’s left with Jov and her team, his eyes are focused on another map, showing hyperlanes across the galaxy, with many star systems and planets. There’s different markers and comments in both Basic and Mando’a across it, most of them of military designations.  
“You know, many dream back even more than ever now, to the glory days of old.”

Jov approaches his location, seeing his distant look. Torian and Mako stands just a few steps behind her. She eventually stops once they’re by the table, with Mandalore on the opposite side.  
“And what would those be?”

“The days of the Neo-Crusaders, of course. The Mandalorian Wars. Riding on their great war machines and breaking every world in their sight.”

She’d certainly heard of those at least, almost like horror stories of the long distant past. It was the fear of how Mandalorians used to be or something like that, but she never cared much for it. They were broken by the Republic and a Jedi leading them or something along those lines.  
“That was a long time ago.”

“Mhm, it was, but many dream of them returning. We’ve not been that strong for a long time, although it’s possible we could be now. The Republic definitely experienced that during the last war.”

Jov watches him, noticing his ambiguous gaze.  
“What’s your opinion on it?”

He takes in a long and deep breath, slowly emitting it and places his hands upon the edge of the table.  
“We haven’t had good battles like those ones for a while. For many, the last war was just a taste of how our bite is now. It could be more.”  
He leaves it at that, which doesn’t tell her anything close to the truth. Perhaps that’s for the best. He eventually redirects his eyes to her.  
“And what about you? Any interest in all that?”

Jov smiles and shrugs briefly.  
“I’m not much of a conqueror type. I prefer a good duel or a hunt. Gives me more of a challenge.”

He laughs once more and shakes his head.  
“I know someone who once told me something similar, before she left.”  
Jov raises a questioning eyebrow, but he just waves dismissively. Another time, then. Mandalore soon shifts his focus to the woman next to her.  
“I see that you’ve not yet escaped from the Blood Fist, Mako. With brains like yours, I thought you’d be off leading a bounty hunter group of your own by now.”

Mako smirks, while also eyeing Jov for a moment. The hunter doesn’t appear particularly pleased with that comment.  
“Heh, I probably could but lucky for her, I kinda enjoy hanging out with her.”

Jov tries to wrap an arm around Mako, to tickle her, but she steps out of it in time.  
“Tsk. Admit it, you’d be nothing without me.” 

“Pft, it’s more like the opposite! You would be completely lost if I wasn’t there.” 

“I handled myself well enough before you came along.”

“Maybe with small and cheap jobs. There’s no way that you would’ve won the Great Hunt if I hadn’t been helping you strategize and keeping your back clear.”

Mandalore looks amused as he watches them, especially seeing the joy on Jov’s face. Most can perceive how important Mako is to her, and she doesn’t even need to admit it.  
“I’m glad to see that you’re still here anyway. I wondered if perhaps her choice to join my clan would not be as appealing to you.”

Mako turns somewhat more serious and shrugs.  
“I dunno, it’s not that important to me. As long as we still manage to get paid and she’s happy, that’s good enough for me.”

Jov does her best to hide her smile and to hold back the urge to hug Mako. Mandalore moves his attention to the other man.  
“Su cuy’gar, Torian. Doing well on my Champion’s ship too?” 

Torian isn’t as expressive as the two women and merely nods in respect to him.  
“Yes, Mandalore. Doing fine.”

Jov takes a step towards him and nudges her elbow slightly at his side.  
“He’s been a lot of help too, actually. Torian is pretty good in a fight and he’s been teaching me all he can about mandalorian language and culture.”

Torian’s features eases somewhat when he peers at Jov.  
“Not much to teach. You know the basics.”

“Well, the warrior stuff maybe, but it’s still good to hear about the details. And Mando’a isn’t as hard as I thought it’d be.”

Mandalore’s lips curls up into a smirk.  
“Is that a sign that we’ll be having conversations that way soon enough then?”

Jov widen her eyes and then clears her throat.  
“Uh, possibly. Give me a little bit more time.”

They see how Mako shakes her head.  
“She gets bored too easily with it.”

“Shut up, you!”

There’s of course something specific eating on Mandalore’s mind, which he needs to get out.  
“I hope there’s no grudge, Cadera. Mine was with your father but…I know you two talked before the end.” 

Torian seems to ponder the comment for a moment before he simply shakes his head.  
“None, Mandalore. I still stand by my actions, even if I…understand him more now.” 

The two share a long look, before Mandalore nods curtly, accepting what is said. Jov hadn’t been afraid that it’d come to blows or anything. Not because it had been a while since the hunt nor because Torian isn’t ready to fight, but rather that he’s pretty bad at holding it in. While he can be pretty stoic, Jov always notices when there’s something on his mind that upsets him. He pretty much radiates that kind of emotion at such a point.  
Focus then finally gets back to Jov.  
“So, I suppose we should discuss what brought you here then.”

Jov returns her hands to her hips and prepares herself.  
“Probably yeah. I assume you’ve heard what’s been going on.”

“With you? Oh yes, it’s rather difficult not to.”  
Mandalore begins to slowly walk around his side of the room.  
“The rumors spread rather quickly afterwards, but it’s been hard to come by any facts. Enlighten me?”

It’s both a request and a demand. It is his ship, so she won’t take offense at that.  
“Not sure what to tell you, really. Tormen had me do a bunch of stuff for him, mostly take out targets he marked. I got revenge on the Jedi who killed the other Champions, before I went off to take down the Chancellor himself.”  
For a moment, she goes quiet and her arms shift up to get folded over her chest instead as she scowls.  
“It…didn’t quite turn out how I had planned. I was getting tired of being bossed around by Tormen, and when the Chancellor showed no resistance and wanted to talk, I agreed. He gave me an offer, to remove all the bounties on me and set things straight as long as I got rid of Tormen.”  
She sighs and then shrugs briefly.  
“Tormen was more of a challenge anyway. There was more honor in taking him out, in my opinion, and I stand by that decision.”

Mandalore listens to her in silence and this continues for several more seconds after she’s stopped.  
“Your show of individuality is both interesting and…worrying.” 

“Figured as much.”

His lips still tilt into a small smile and he locks his eyes with hers again.  
“We are mandalorians and compared to the last Mandalore, I won’t make us into the Sith’s pawns. You have the right to seek out a good challenge when you find it.  
That said, they are still our allies and too much of this kind of behavior will get you marked by the wrong people, Jovana.”

Jov frowns and shakes her head.  
“Yeah, I know, but we can find better allies than that guy. If anything, he was exactly the kind of asshole who lacks all interest in honor and would’ve backstabbed me if I became too dangerous. I got to him first, that’s all.” 

He emits a short laughter.  
“Your prowess and confidence is impressive as always, my friend, but make sure it doesn’t turn into arrogance.  
I assume this is why you came to me, though.”

She inclines her head, understanding that this must’ve been quite obvious.  
“Pretty much. While I’m not ashamed or anything, it’s hard to know exactly where we should turn to. I can’t really go work for the Republic and the Empire…well, I wouldn’t begrudge them a bit of suspicion at this point. I wasn’t sure how you would see this entire situation either.”

“Until now. Don’t worry, I stick by my people and I understand your decision. You did what was right at the time. At least you don’t have half of the galaxy out for your hide anymore.  
To be honest, I think you should be safe from the Sith too. Despite killing one of theirs, many of them still see each other as rivals. You might’ve pissed a few of them off while others may see you as a potential ally. If you want, I could have some of my contacts help you find which is which.”

Her expression softens and she feels slightly safer.  
“Thanks, I’d appreciate that. Hopefully, I can find some jobs with them again.”

He begins to move around the table now, to her side.  
“Not a problem. We are aliit and that means more than may know, burc’ya.” 

She smiles and nods in appreciation, glad to hear him speak of it this way.  
“Me and my team were gonna head towards the Mandalore system, but I wanted to have your approval first.”

With a smirk, he puts a hand on her shoulder and pulls her along with him.  
“There’s no need to give permission, Jovana. You are Clan Lok, and may come and go as you please, anytime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Next chapter will focus on Zal._


	11. Darkened revelations (SW)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Zal'riva returns to the Dark Temple._

This darkness, the thickness in the air and the eerie sensation of dread – they are all traits that Zal’riva remembers. The sight of broken stones, dust and complete silence is not. Last time she had set her eyes upon the Dark Temple far on the outskirts of Kaas City, it had been with a feeling that she hoped never to revisit this place. It almost makes her question why she and her companions are now standing here within the valley again, but she knows it needs to be done.  
Glancing over her shoulder, she motions towards Broonmark and Pierce.  
“You two, guard the entrance to the valley and watch the perimeter. No one else should be allowed to enter after us.”

The talz merely nods but Pierce salutes her.  
“It will be done, my lord. You won’t be disturbed, I promise.”

Her attention has already returned to the valley and ruins ahead, and she continues. Jaesa and Quinn remains with her as they stride forward, watching for any movement. None appears to them and Zal is honestly surprised to see that they’re alone.  
Before they can properly survey the area though, Zal shifts to glance upon the cliffs higher up to the south, where she spots the familiar shape of the Tempest. She raises her arm and pushes a button on the comm unit attached there.  
“Vette, is our signal coming through alright?”

She can at least hear the other twi’lek’s voice loud and clear.  
“Yup, sounds good to me. Though I am still wondering why in all the hells you wanted to come here. Figured our last visit was enough to tell that the inhabitants aren’t very hospitable.”

Zal turns back to look upon the grounds that they’re approaching, leading further up to where the main temple is located. Some of the ancient walls with scripture are still standing on the sides, but whatever Ktila and her companions did here, it had a lot of impact on most of the landscape. Large chunks of the grand temple lie strewn all over the ground and certain broken equipment from the corrupted expedition teams remain. For some reason though, there’s no corpses nor have the entire temple fallen apart, even though much of the top has broken off. Zal would guess that an explosion did this, perhaps when power erupted from the Emperor.  
“I need to see something.”

“See what? All the broken rubble? I got a pretty good view from up here already, don’t think you need to walk that close.”

Zal doesn’t respond and instead focuses on the sensations around her. It appears that Jaesa is doing the same, and on her side, she can see her apprentice’s troubled expression.  
“What is it?”

Jaesa focuses on something else, seeming distant for several moments before she responds.  
“I…I don’t like this place. The aura around it is…”  
She visibly shivers.  
“…unnerving. I haven’t felt such darkness almost anywhere else. Maybe Voss…”

It is true that none of them except for Vette were with her last time and that visit was very short. Of course, that had been the purpose as well. Zal didn’t like to hang around longer than necessary, especially not when seeing what had happened with the previous expeditions.  
“It is quite bad, yes, but not as much as last time we were here. Not to say it has disappeared, however.”

“Do you know what it is or why this darkness persists?”

Zal narrows her eyes as they are gradually approaching the entrance to the temple. The further up they get along the stairs however, it gets more difficult as they have to walk past all the rubble.  
“A lot of Sith were buried here and I believe their power has somehow cursed it to such a degree that trying to cleanse it may be impossible.”

Captain Quinn is on Zal’s other side, surveying the landscape instead of trying to understand the spiritual.  
“My lord, the Republic certainly did an extensive amount of damage when they were here. I’m surprised to see that they did not bombard it completely.”

“This destruction was not caused by them. From the reports I received, it was the Emperor himself that tried to bring down the temple upon them. Though it is definitely more deserted than last time.”

“True enough, but one can assume that expeditions have been discouraged after the last failed attempts. And you were among those who killed a few of the maddened beings here too, yes?”

She faces him briefly and frowns in thought.  
“Perhaps, but look around you, Quinn. Do you see any corpses? I doubt the expedition teams remained to clean out all those who were dead, so who or what did? And those who did, why have they not done anything about the rest of the outside of the temple? If there was anyone here afterwards at all, that is.”

Quinn picks up a shard of rock from the ground, seeing pieces of ancient Sith writing on one side.  
“I apologize, my lord, I have no answers for you.”

“That is why I must see what is going on here for myself.”

Eventually, they walk past most of the scattered destruction and end up just ahead of the stairs that leads up to the entrance. They have to stop here, of course, as the opening itself has been completely filled with rubble from the interior of the temple. If they’d wish to go inside, it would mean having to do a lot of digging.  
Before such thoughts manage to insert themselves, there’s a stirring in the Force which both Jaesa and Zal react to. They try to focus upon it, but it seems to be elusive.  
“Master, do you feel that?”

“Yes.”

She fingers the hilt to her weapon and while Quinn can’t sense it, he places a hand on the grip of his blaster.  
“What’s wrong?”

“There is someone…or something moving in this area. The Force is strong within it.”

Jaesa is the only one who doesn’t try to take an offensive stance.  
“Do you think it might be…?”

She doesn’t end the sentence, but doesn’t need to either.  
“No, this isn’t as fierce as back on Voss.”

“Times have changed though, especially with the Republic’s attack.”

Tiring of the games of this creature, Zal draws her lightsaber and ignites it, allowing the purple light to illuminate her position.  
“Show yourself, whomever you are! We know you are watching.”

Occasionally, she feels sure that this being is circling them, but at the same time the power emanating from it is located mostly by the entrance to the temple. When she finally decides to focus her eyes in that direction, she sees something transparent and glowing walk right through the rubble. From the size and shape, it’s a humanoid creature but no human or otherwise can walk through walls as far as she knows. It wears heavy armor and a long coat, similar to her own but the head holds what appears to be a helmet or mask which surrounds the entirety of it. The placement for the eyes are black and hollow. She has no time to warn or strike out against it, for the humanoid lifts its arms and pushes all three away with the use of the Force. Jaesa and Quinn are thrown back the furthest, but Zal manages to grit her teeth and merely glides back several meters instead.  
“And what is the meaning of this? I thought I made it clear last time that I do not enjoy intruders on my resting grounds.”

When Quinn and Jaesa rises, the Captain aims his blaster in the ghost’s direction while Jaesa dusts herself off and raises a hand.  
“We apologize, spirit. We don’t mean to harm or disturb you.”

“And yet you have.”

From the gruff sound of the voice, Zal would guess it’s a man and she doesn’t let go off her weapon, just in case.  
“Who are you?”

The man snorts at her and shakes his head.  
“You are the intruders here, so I believe it is you who should answer such a question to begin with.”

Despite the initial hostility, the ghost hasn’t continued to strike against them. Perhaps that’s some kind of positive sign.  
“My name is Darth Zal’riva, but many in the Empire know me as the Emperor’s Wrath.”

His features appear to relax somewhat, while he raises his arms to fold them.  
“I see. A title I have heard a few times from those who previously encroached on these halls. You may call me Kallig.”

Now that is a name she certainly recognizes. Could it be?  
“Wait a moment, Kallig? Are you possibly related to-“

“Aye, I am. She is a descendant with many generations apart.”

Zal slowly lowers her lightsaber.  
“We are good friends, she and I.”

“So you say, but that does not matter for your visit here.”

It may not, but at least they can find some common ground. She shuts the weapon off and holster it.  
“How is it you’re still here, Lord Kallig? From what some Sith investigations revealed, the Emperor should have suppressed or destroyed all other spirits in this place when he decided to reclaim the temple.”

Kallig begins to pace around the area.  
“Hmph, ‘the Emperor’. My spirit was locked in here long before your Emperor was even born, young one. The shackles which binds me to this place are far too sturdy for him to simply remove me; my murderers made sure of that.”  
The strength she senses from this ghost is far beneath the Emperor’s, and yet there is truth in his words. She doesn’t have time to ask more however.  
“Now, why have you come? Do you intend to dig at the bones of your master’s corpse?”

Zal takes a few steps forward, placing herself ahead of her two companions, just in case.  
“The Emperor is not dead.”

“Oh? I think you’ll find yourself mistaken, Wrath. It is still in there, I can assure you, deep beneath the rubble. I have spotted it myself, even if I did not step too close.”

Likely because he too fears the power within, whether he admits it or not.  
“What you’re talking about is the death of his corporeal form. Our Emperor does not perish so easily, in a spiritual sense.”

Kallig is silent for a moment. He may release that this is the case or interested that they’d understand it.  
“Is that why you’ve come then? To resurrect your master into his physical form?”

“Not quite, no.”  
Zal sighs and glances around the area. She cannot sense any other spirits here, so perhaps those reports were correct.  
“I wanted to see if I could sense a manifestation of him in this place. It has become his resting grounds, but I doubt he is one to simply lay dormant. Is there perhaps any way that you can assist us?”

He peers at her for several seconds, probably studying her in some fashion.  
“Not with someone of your mindset, no. You are too physical, too focused upon your brutality.”  
His helmet shifts instead to Jaesa.  
“You however, I believe you will do.”

Instinctively, Jaesa takes a short step back.  
“Me? Why me?”

“I can sense part of your power, child. Your mental detection abilities are stronger than those of your master, are they not?”

She feels unsure and looks to Zal for confirmation, which she is given.  
“Yes…yes, that is true.”

“Good. If you truly wish to find what you seek, then I may have a way. I believe I know a blood ritual that may help to connect us. With it, I should be able to extend the possibilities to improve your search.”

Now that isn’t quite what Zal wanted to hear and she steps somewhat further in between Jaesa and Kallig, defensively so.  
“Hold on just a moment. Blood ritual? I don’t like the sound of that. I will not allow you to possess my apprentice, ghost.”

He snorts derisively once more, almost laughing at the notion.  
“Don’t be absurd, Wrath. Your apprentice does not have the skills of my descendant. Our bond couldn’t possibly stretch that far.”

Jaesa is lost in her thoughts for a while until something suddenly dawns upon her.  
“Wait, descendant? Is he talking about…?”  
Zal peers over her shoulder, locking eyes with Jaesa and nods sharply. With this new information, Jaesa feels better about her decision.  
“Very well, if they are related, then I am willing to accept this ritual.”

Zal doesn’t feel quite as good about this step, however. She knows Jaesa is strong, but throwing herself into danger like this isn’t something Zal prefers. Sometimes, she does get a bit overprotective.  
“Are you sure? We don’t know what will happen when you two connect.”

They hear a sigh from Kallig.  
“Wrong again, Wrath. I know perfectly well what the outcome will be.”

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

Zal’s tone is sharp and even more unfriendly than before, but Jaesa smiles and places a hand upon her shoulder.  
“Don’t worry, master, I’ll be fine. Trust me.”

She takes a deep breath while she meets Jaesa’s look and then steps aside.  
“Very well. If you try anything, spirit, I will make sure to find a way to make you suffer immeasurably, even beyond the grave.”

They can’t tell if he takes her threat seriously, because of the mask, but he focuses upon Jaesa.  
“I would recommend having a seat and then tell me when you are ready.”

Jaesa nods, bending her legs to sit on her knees and putting her hands upon her lap.  
“I am prepared to begin immediately. What must I do?”

“You have something sharp? Use it and carve a wound deep enough in your hand that you may drop blood upon the ground.”

Except for her lightsaber, Jaesa have few items with her and she glances at Zal, who turns to Quinn.  
“Already on it, my lord.”  
The Captain has opened up his jacket and picks out one of the few sharp tools he sometimes uses when treating wounded. His gun is still ready, but he spares the time to hand the knife over to Jaesa.  
“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Jaesa concentrates and tries to slice as precise of a cut as she can, pressing her hand together so that she may push more blood from the wound. Afterwards, she raises it and let’s some drops hit the ground. Kallig lifts his own hand after a while.  
“That will be enough.”  
They see how the liquid stirs on the ground and start to boil. Not long after, it turns into a red thin mist instead, which rises into the air.  
“Close your eyes, clear your mind and focus on your surroundings. Use your abilities to locate what you seek. Let your determination guide you.”

She breathes in and out slowly, following his instructions. Zal takes a few steps to the side, waiting to see what will happen.  
A minute goes by in silence and Jaesa does not move. For Zal, it is almost like time stretches even further and she begins to worry. Has Kallig betrayed them after all? She won’t let Jaesa be controlled by him. Perhaps she should’ve spoken to Valcera before coming here.  
That is when Jaesa finally moves again and she gasps in surprise.  
“Jaesa?”

“I…I sense something. It is another presence, somewhere deep in the temple. It is almost as if it hides beyond some kind of barrier.  
I can feel…anger…hatred…and...”  
She disappears for another few seconds and then sounds surprised with the next word.  
“…curiosity?”

Without any prior warning, Jaesa is suddenly knocked back onto the ground, as if someone punched her away and her body bounces once before eventually stopping.  
“Jaesa!”  
Zal rushes as quickly as she can towards her apprentice and Quinn follows suit. The Captain drops his weapon and immediately picks up a scanner and prepares some stims, while allowing Zal to hold her.  
The Sith begins to frown and whirls around angrily towards Kallig.  
“What did you do?!”

Kallig seems a lot calmer however, moving arms behind his back.  
“I did nothing. I told you, I only helped extend her own abilities.”

Before she can file more complaints towards him, they all sense energy rising in the air. Zal keeps her frown going and peers instead at the temple. A minor tremor is felt through the ground and she wonders if she needs to grab her weapon to defend them or perhaps even lift Jaesa to run.  
None are necessary however, for instead of an attack or further separation of the temple, a mess of glowing energy shoots up into the air. From what they can see, it looks black and purple, like a long stream of dim light. It reaches the sky so quickly that Zal barely has enough time to reach for her comm unit.  
“Vette! Did you see that?”

There’s some distress in the pilot’s voice when she answers.  
“Of course I did!”

“Can you track it?”

“I’m trying to but, for some reason our sensors can’t detect it. What was that?”

Zal has nothing of value to retort with and instead gazes down at Jaesa again when she hears some groaning. Quinn nods briefly, having administered a stim to Jaesa.  
“She should be stable, my lord. No major physical injuries from what I can see.”

Jaesa’s eyes slowly flutters open and while they appear distant, they do concentrate on Zal.  
“Jaesa? Can you hear me?”

Her voice is weakened and quiet, but enough to be audible.  
“He…he was here. I could sense him. He spoke to me…”

Zal scowls, searching Jaesa’s expression.  
“What did he say?”

“He said only a few words. ‘The Wrath cannot be stilled’. That was all.”

Once more, Zal glances up at the sky, though she knows not what she hopes to find. What is that supposed to mean? Is he expecting something of her?  
While Quinn continues to treat the apprentice, Zal notices how Kallig has begun to leave.  
“Hey, wait! You’re leaving already? Isn’t there anything you wish me to tell your descendant?”

He speaks shortly before he disappears from her view.  
“No need, for I will do so myself. Good luck on your journey, Wrath.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, Zal doesn't like anyone touching her apprentice. Well, except for Vette and Kira, but that's different!_
> 
> _Next time, it's back to Bery._


	12. Limits of nature (Sm)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This technically has Bery, but Lenorr (and Guss) is more in focus here._

Leaning over to the side of her sofa, Bery moves her hand to a control panel on the arm rest and pushes a few buttons. The lights in her cabin start to dim and while she doesn’t take it all the way, it does get quite a bit darker.  
Seemingly satisfied, she peers at the woman sitting on the carpet in the middle of the room. The faint glowing nature of Lenorr’s eyes can be seen even better at this point.  
“Good enough?”

The pureblood nods briefly.  
“Yes. When I close my eyes, count to five and then toss the first orb towards the ground and let it bounce. Wait about thirty seconds before you proceed with the second. It’s the same with the third.” 

Bery feels the rubbery balls in her hands, which is going to be used for this specific exercise. During the time they’ve spent together, Lenorr has tried all sorts of measures to test her capabilities with the Force, although Bery considers this to be one of the stranger ones.  
“You sure it’s a good idea to just let them bounce around in here?”

“We’ve secured all of your most fragile possessions, so I don’t see why not.”

“Well, what if they hit me?”

Lenorr sighs and shakes her head.  
“You’ve ducked blaster bolts, I’m sure you know how to avoid being hit by these harmless objects.”

“This isn’t the same thing! It’s dark in here!”  
She stops to listen and simply shuts her eyes.  
“Hey, that’s not fair!”

“Get ready to toss the first one.”

Bery rolls her eyes and gives in, resting one arm against the side of her sofa.  
“Fine, whatever. It’s your fault if one of these knock me in the eye and blinds me.”

There’s no reaction from the pureblood as she awaits Bery’s throw. It does take a few more seconds than five, but the first one eventually gets lobbed down against the floor and begins its bouncing route around the cabin. As soon as it is about to pass Lenorr by, to return towards Bery, she lifts her hand and with a very light application of the Force, knocks the orb out of its path, letting it be thrown against another wall instead. And so the training begins.  
Every time the ball comes close to Lenorr, she knocks it elsewhere and does her best to guide it around her in order to sense its presence. Without telling Bery, it is also part of the test to not let it hit the twi’lek either. 

As Bery isn’t trying to ruin this little activity, she follows the guidelines she was given and within a minute, three rubbery orbs are bouncing all around the room.  
The Captain has planted herself down against her seat, attempting to become as small of a target as possible. Her sight has mostly adjusted to the darkness and while she can’t see all of their paths constantly, it is still possible to witness Lenorr at work. Despite the fact that she’s kind of annoyed about having to sit here and potentially getting hurt by one of these little things, it is also somewhat impressive to see her girlfriend at work.  
The Sith is completely still except for her arms, not looking at the objects as they fly all around her, but somehow managing to sense them anyway. Part of the test is a detection through the Force, but another is also for Lenorr to be able to use her other senses to guide her against attacks while unarmed. A real assault would obviously be utilizing way deadlier items, but this mostly needs to focus on her reflexes. 

This continues for a good minute or two, until the door suddenly slides open, and a third person peers inside.  
“Hey Captain, did you-“

The voice somehow manages to affect Lenorr’s concentration at the exact wrong moment and while she manages to just barely knock one of the balls out of her way, another slams right into the side of her head.  
“Fuck!”

The outburst makes Bery laugh, but the man at the door winces so much that he almost stumbles backwards.  
“Erm…”

Bery smiles at him.  
“Hey there Guss!”

“Is this…a bad time, Captain? I-I could come back later.” 

“Nah, don’t be ridiculous, come on in.”  
As Lenorr rubs the side of her head and angrily grabs the orbs with the Force to make them float towards her, Bery returns the light to a brighter stage.  
“It’s alright, really, as this was part of the training. From what she said, she had to keep her concentration even against unexpected distractions.” 

Lenorr glares at her while Bery smirks in return, but then sighs instead.  
“Yes, I know.”  
She peers over her shoulder, somewhat gentler, at the mon calamari.  
“It is fine, I have nothing against you coming in either. In fact, I’m the one who asked Bery to send for you, as I want to discuss certain matters.” 

“You…want to talk to me?”  
He points at himself in astonishment.  
“Uh, what about?” 

“The Force.” 

Not quite his favorite subject, something she can both see and feel emanating from him.  
“I…I see. I’m not too sure if that’s a good idea.”

“And why not?”

“Well, I mean…I can’t use it.” 

She tilts her head curiously.  
“Just because you can’t use it now, doesn’t mean it is impossible for you to learn to. I know about your sensitivity.” 

He exhales and lowers his gaze.  
“Yeah, that never went particularly well. Just ask the Jedi…”

Lenorr doesn’t know what to say to convince him, which is why Bery butts in.  
“Hey, c’mon Guss, give it a shot at least. You don’t have to do much more than listen right now. Won’t hurt all too much to try, right?”

Guss faces Bery and both women know that he has quite a bit of respect for her, more than anyone else in the crew. It makes him step inside, letting the door shut behind him and he goes to sit down on the floor not too far from the door.  
“Okay, I guess I could stay for a while.”

This satisfies Bery and as she’s in the room, he doesn’t look as uncomfortable as he’d be with only Lenorr being here, something the Captain had anticipated.  
The Sith shifts her position as well, facing Guss and folds her arms.  
“Could you speak a bit about your training and your disagreements with the Jedi Order?”

“Okay uh, how much do you already know?”

“The basics. Bery has told me that you were with the Jedi but their ways were never really your style.”

He shrugs slightly.  
“There isn’t much else to it then. I was taken into the order by one of their masters with a bunch of kids. I was older than the others, pretty much grown up already.”  
His dark eyes blink and he peers around searchingly.  
“The things they taught us was some pretty basic stuff. Meditation, simple physical and mental exercises, and there were even a few attempts at using training sabers to spar. I was never good at any of that stuff though and failed at all of it.”

“Did you show any skill at being able to use the Force at all?”

“Like, one of those tricks you do? No, not really. I mean, I…I know how the basics work, as the Jedi did drill those words into me but I can’t say that I’ve ever been able to sense them or do anything of value.”

Lenorr raises a hand, rubbing one of the tendrils by her jawline in thought.  
“Even if is faint, I can sense your potential for using the Force, however.”

“Well uh, you obviously know more than me. I left the Order because all that nonsense about being protectors of the galaxy and stripping away our emotions wasn’t particularly appealing. I did use some of the stuff they’d taught me though in my later work, so I got something out of it, I suppose.”

She arches one of her eyebrows, kind of amused that he’d use Jedi teachings that way.  
“I see. And have you ever tested some of the basic abilities one usually learns?”

He scratches his arm uncertainly.  
“I’ve tried but, it hardly ever works. Once I was able to knock down a few boxes when I was bored but, it didn’t work when I tried later on. People have said I can be pretty persuasive too, but I’m not so sure that has anything to do with mind tricks.”

Bery looks amused.  
“Yeah, people have said the same thing about me and I know for sure that I can’t use the Force.”

Lenorr rolls her eyes.  
“Your personalities are very different too, so Languss may still have a point.  
Regardless, it does sound like you have difficulties on a mental stage, but that doesn’t mean it is hopeless. I have never had an apprentice, but I could offer you my aid, if that is of interest to you.” 

Guss appears reluctant again, not meeting Lenorr’s gaze. Even when she tries to be friendly, he still considers her to be rather intimidating.  
“I dunno. Maybe. I can’t say that I’m sure whether this is really my thing.”

“True, but the Jedi order clearly did not work for you. Perhaps it could be worth it to try another viewpoint?”

“As a Sith?”

Lenorr shakes her head briefly, knowing it’s not quite what she has intended.  
“I’ve watched you during the time I have been here and if I should be completely honest, you are not the type to become a good Sith.”

“…not sure whether I should take that as a compliment or an insult.”

Bery giggles slightly, but Lenorr shrugs and remains impassive.  
“It was neither, merely a statement from my observations. What I mean is, I do not intend to train you as a Sith. It is just an offer to test you and your abilities. It could help improve your capabilities overall, not just as a Force user but in your everyday life.”

Guss’ shoulders slump as he exhales deeply, not looking particularly thrilled.  
“That sounds like a lot of work, though.”

“I won’t lie, it probably will be.”

Further hesitation is displayed on his expression. This is obviously a tough topic for him to tackle, and while Lenorr doesn’t wish to push him, it still needs to be said.  
“I don’t know if I want to.”

Lenorr watches him thoughtfully, contemplating whether she should simply give in here. She’s tried every angle she can think of and it might just be that he’s not ready for it.  
That’s when Bery cuts in once more.  
“C’mon Guss, you should consider this carefully. Think of the benefits.”

He raises his eyes up towards her, hoping she’ll have even better insight.  
“What benefits?”

“Think about how much you could gain by learning the Force. Even in your current position, a bit of flare from the Force could be really useful, wouldn’t you say? It could help doing your work even better than you’re already doing it, not to mention aid you in tough situations.”

“Like…when we fight?”

“Among other things, yeah. If you’re outnumbered or something, you could learn to better talk people down or at the very least, use your skills to help you escape faster. And if you want to ‘acquire’ certain objects, I’m sure the Force could be very handy.”

Lenorr peers at her skeptically, as even she wonders if that’s any proper way to use the Force but, perhaps that is Guss’ style after all.  
He really seems to think her words over as well.  
“Hmm, I guess I see your point, Captain. It would be an advantage I haven’t had before.”

“Exactly. Besides, it’s not like you have to go through with this all the way. All you have to do is try it out.”

Guss takes a deep breath and eventually nods with more determination as he faces Lenorr again.  
“Alright, I’m willing to try. Although, knowing me, I think you should prepare yourself for disappointment.”

Lenorr gives him a faint smile in return.  
“Don’t be so certain of that. We may be able to surprise each other.”

“I guess we’ll find out.  
So uh, do I need to call you ‘master’ now?”

She waves a hand dismissively at that thought.  
“No, I don’t think that would be suitable for this specific endeavor. I won’t call you my apprentice either. We are just two colleagues exchanging knowledge, that’s all.” 

He suddenly smiles as well and relaxes.  
“That sounds a lot better to me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I'm going for some stuff with Reezah next time._


	13. Prime detachment (Tr)

Sometimes, Reezah is reminded just how uneasy she can be on Coruscant. It is not that it’s a bad place to live nor that she dislikes the world and the people who live on it, but it is…a damn big planet.  
While she’s been living on the Republic capital world for a while now, she grew up on Balmorra and spent her teenage years on another small and remote colony. Neither of them could be compared to the massive size of Coruscant’s cities and the amount of people who live here. Sometimes she finds herself overwhelmed when gazing out a window with a good view and other times…she’s simply annoyed, like right now. 

The war has gone pretty well so far, at least from Havoc’s point of view. They’ve managed to complete some valuable operations and while the Empire fights back, it is not quite as efficient as in the last war. Something has obviously happened during this past decade but Reezah isn’t particularly bothered by it. In fact, she’s glad that it’s finally possible for her to get some revenge on the bastards who destroyed her home. At this time, she kinda wishes that she was out there, instead of stuck in an elevator that never seems to end.  
This is part of what she dislikes with Coruscant – getting anywhere can feel like it takes a lifetime. She has to go through security checks, identification procedures and ride endless elevators. Why didn’t they just send her with a shuttle? Would’ve gone much faster. Because of the importance of this world, such safety measures might be reasonable but she mostly wishes she wouldn’t have to be here. 

Thankfully, she’s not alone in her misery at least. Two more uniformed officers stand with her – Elara on the left and Jorgan on her right. Reezah hadn’t thought it would be necessary to bring either of them but apparently, the one they’re about to meet said they should be present. Who is Reezah to argue when a superior demand something out of her? Well, it’s likely she’ll have her say soon enough. 

The elevator has been running for about a minute or so, without a word being said, when Elara suddenly turns and leans closer to Reezah. Her eyes are upon the Major’s chest, making Reezah arch a brow, but she soon realizes that there’s something specific on her armor. Elara lifts out some kind of tissue and begins to wipe the side of the chest piece.  
When being faced with an odd look, Elara glances up to lock their eyes together.  
“You have a bit of dirt here. I’ll just wipe it off quickly.”

Reezah smiles amusedly and shrugs.  
“As you wish.”

Jorgan in the meantime rolls his eyes.  
“You know you’re being silly, right?”

Elara frowns in response and continues her work.  
“Am I? You know who we’re about to meet, yes? I believe we must aspire to be as presentable as possible.” 

“For the head of all annoying politicians?”

“She’s more than that, Aric. She was elected and with good reason, I believe.”

“That’s your opinion, but I disagree with it.” 

Elara snorts and finishes wiping Reezah’s armor, before disposing of the tissue.  
“Whether you do or not, I hope you’ll at least show the proper respect she deserves.”

“I’ll be keeping my mouth shut, that’s for sure.”

“Good enough for me.”

Reezah sighs and shakes her head.  
“Please, both of you, let’s just stay calm and let me take care of this.”

Jorgan shrugs.  
“That was my plan all along.”

Elara nods curtly.  
“I believe in you, Major and that you’ll represent us well.”

Reezah shows her a small smile, before she raises a hand to gently stroke Elara’s cheek.  
“I’ll try my best.”

They share a soft gaze between each other, but it can’t evolve much further for the doors soon open up, taking them to a corridor with several more doors along the sides. None of them are as important as the two large ones on the far side of course. Two guards are lined up in front of the opening, wielding ceremonial close-range weapons. The duo welcome Reezah’s team and lets the office be open to them.  
They enter a room with large windows on the far side, several holographic monitors and displays placed along the walls as well as scenic paintings and images of past important figures in Republic history. None of it gains Reezah’s attention as much as the woman behind the large desk – an average height twi’lek with a simple brown headband, yellow-green skin and intelligent purple eyes. They’ve met once before, but it’s been a while since then. Reezah certainly didn’t believe that she’d be meeting in such an official way so soon.

When she stands at attention, the other two do the same.  
“Havoc Squad is present, as per your instructions, Supreme Chancellor.”

Leontyne Saresh peers at them with interest before she stands up and gestures with her hand. She begins to walk around her table.  
“At ease, all of you. It is good to see you again. How are you all doing?”

It has been a hectic time but, before going to meet with Saresh, the team was given a few days of shore leave. With the war going on, Reezah was somewhat surprised but didn’t protest.  
“We’re good, Your Excellency. The rest was…welcome. We are ready to get back into the fight, however.” 

Saresh looks somewhat pleased when she stops not too far away from them, placing arms behind her back.  
“Glad to hear it and I assure you that you will, but there’s going to be some changes.”

Reezah arches a brow momentarily.  
“Changes, sir?”

“Yes, it has been decided that Havoc Squad’s operations from now on will be controlled directly by me, along with some of my highest military officers.”

This wasn’t quite what she had expected when coming here. She had wanted it to be a short meeting but now it has derailed very quickly.  
“Does this exclude General Garza, sir?”

“It does.”

Jorgan immediately begins to frown and Reezah does her best to hold herself back as well.  
“Was this on her own request, sir?”

“No, this was a decision that I and some of my officers made together. Supreme Commander Malcolm has agreed with me as well.”

“What will happen to General Garza then?”

“The General will not be made useless, Major. She’s been assigned to different duties within the special forces. You and your team, however, have been deemed to be all too useful for the kind of missions which she will be handling.”

It isn’t quite clear what that’s supposed to mean, but it appears as if Reezah values Garza higher than Saresh and her ilk.  
“With all due respect, Chancellor, I do not recommend keeping General Garza out of whatever operations that you expect of Havoc. She’s a very skilled commander and one of the finest officers I’ve ever served under.”

Saresh emits a brief sigh and shakes her head.  
“I understand your feelings on this matter, Major, as she was the one who transferred you and raised you up into the position you have now but, she’s just not the type of person I’m looking for to lead your team anymore.”

“But, sir, have you read her entire service record?”

“I have.”

“Then surely you must realize what good she's done in the past? Without her, there wouldn’t even be any special forces in the way we operate right now. Her expertise and tactics have won countless battles for the Republic and I don’t think my team would’ve survived without her. Whatever happens to us now, she deserves the chance to prove herself with us.”

She waits until the Major is done but then Saresh moves back towards her desk, leaning against the front of it with folded arms.  
“Major, how would you describe General Garza?”

“As a person?”

“As a person and as a commander.”

Reezah peers around searchingly for a moment and then nods as she settles her thoughts.  
“Well, decisive comes to mind, first of all. Stubborn, smart and resolute are also a few traits I’d say she has.”

“I will give you that, yes.”

“She’s also a quick thinker and loyal-“

Saresh interjects with a doubtful look.  
“Not to the Senate.”

Reezah scowls and crosses her arms behind her back.  
“To the Republic, sir, and to her soldiers. She cares about those under her command, I can assure you of that, just as much as she cares for the Republic.”

“Does she? I’m not sure if we’re thinking of the same Republic, Major.  
Would you not say that the General can also be described as ruthless and unresponsive to the concerns of others?”

She feels herself going into a defensive mode now, which increases the unease she’s already sensing.  
“When the situation demands it, yes.”

“And what about careless and selfish, focusing only on her own goals and needs?”

“That is unfair, Chancellor and entirely inaccurate.”

Saresh rises into a standing position again, having her eyes firmly focused on Reezah.  
“Is it? Would you say it’s inaccurate that General Garza sent Havoc Squad on a mission to Ando Prime, without approval from the Senate, which risked the lives of every member of that squad?”

“Yes, but-“

“Would it be untrue for me to claim that Garza ordered a large number of similar strikes during the Cold War? Has she not on numerous occasions disregarded recommendations and orders from both the Senate and her superiors? Would you not say that she’d rather destroy her enemies her own way, rather than listen to anyone’s input?”

Saresh’s tone is demanding and sharp but she is not yelling. She’s certainly read through the records then.  
Reezah tries to gather herself and waits until the Chancellor is done.  
“Whatever she did in the past, Chancellor, it has always been for the good of the Republic. That has been her foremost concern.”

Saresh looks displeased and shakes her head.  
“Her methods and disregard for Republic ideals and procedures are not good enough, Major, and especially not for someone in her station. May I remind you that we are in the Galactic Republic and _not_ the Sith Empire? Here, we must follow the law as well as rules and regulations which have been decided. What good is democracy without them?”

Reezah does not hide her frown, but it is also possible to notice that she’s losing.  
“Sometimes, you must bend rules to get things done, Chancellor. That is the reality of war.”

“And yet, her attempts to bend those rules led both her teams and herself into a lot of trouble. Some of them even died because she would not listen to anyone else. Would you say that we should just let her continue to do whatever she wishes with those kinds of results?”  
Finally, Reezah has no response and merely glances down. Saresh approaches her and places a hand upon her shoulder.  
“I understand your sense of loyalty for the General and it is admirable. Don’t worry, Garza will still be handling important tasks for the Republic, just not Havoc Squad. Your missions will change and I believe a different command is necessary during such circumstances.”

She is at least thankful that Saresh isn’t being all too dismissive of her protests as well as her feelings.  
“If that is your decision, then I have no choice but to accept it.”

“That is true, but I don’t want us to fight, Major. I respect you and your team’s service to the Republic immensely, and that is why I want to have a direct hand and understanding for what is to come for you.”

Reezah hesitates at first, not sure how formal she should be.  
“I understand. However, you should probably be aware of that I have had certain…problems working with politicians in the past.”

At the corner of her eye, she can see how Elara displays a somewhat worried expression. Compared to Jorgan, she doesn’t wish to fight this.  
Saresh merely smiles however.  
“So I’ve heard, but I believe things will be different between us, Major. Despite what you believe of me, or what you may assume, I want to take down the Empire just as much as you do. I will not be satisfied with another treaty – the Sith have done enough damage to the galaxy and only their defeat can be an acceptable outcome.  
Wouldn’t you say that we share the same goal?”

Reezah allows herself to relax a bit and nods.  
“I…I suppose you’re right, sir and I’m glad to hear you say it.”  
That said, she’s not particularly happy about having to be proven wrong in this manner, nor is she as certain that Saresh will be ready to make the difficult decisions when they come. There’s no doubt in her mind that there will be decisions that ideals like Saresh’s will have difficulties to perform. 

The conversation lasts for a few more minutes, where they decide best plans for communications, setting up another meeting with the full squad as well as some with the other officers. Reezah’s mind is already quite far away however and only listens to parts of what transpires.  
When they’re back in the elevator, they remain silent again for a while until she blurts out what’s on her mind.  
“We’re going to go see Garza before we leave.”

Jorgan smirks somewhat when he hears it.  
“Heh, should’ve expected that you’d want to go that way. I’m in.”

Elara sighs briefly.  
“Reezah…are you certain this is necessary?”

“Yes, it is. Despite what the Supreme Chancellor thinks, I still want to speak with Garza and see what she feels about this entire situation.”

“We may just be making this more difficult for her, though.”

Reezah faces Elara, knowing that her XO doesn’t always agree with her, but hoping she understands the need for this action.  
“Elara, I know how you feel, but she has been our superior during all of our greatest victories. She was almost part of this team as much as the rest of us. Wouldn’t you say she at least deserves to give her opinion to us, regardless of the importance?”

They share a look that lasts longer than it should, but Elara does eventually give in. She wraps a hand around Reezah’s and shakes her head.  
“If that is what you want, then it is what matters to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I've seen some complaints on the official forums regarding the use of the term "sir", but it seems to be gender neutral in the Star Wars universe so, that's why Reezah has been using it here for Saresh as well._
> 
> _I've got some stuff with Ktila ready for the next chapter._


	14. Destabilized truth (JK)

One of those things that Ktila keeps finding rather strange with Tython is the vast amounts of wilderness. As she grew up on Corellia, she’s used to seeing greenery but usually surrounded by large settlements. The world that this group of Jedi settled on is the polar opposite of that, with only the occasion settlement with deep forests everywhere.  
It isn’t that she specifically dislikes the wild nor that she finds it difficult to handle but that mostly applies when it does not grow too far. There’s always a small bit of tension, as one cannot anticipate every move that nature decides to make. Many Jedi wander out here to meditate or to test themselves and it is certainly useful for those endeavors, but Ktila wishes that the Order would try to take it a few steps further and make more settlements along the way. She wonders if it isn’t possible to get lost out here.

Her mind needs to focus upon the present however, as she moves beneath the tall vegetation next to Kira. The duo has been on a journey for the past few days, having decided it was for the best to where they need to go. Well, at least Ktila thought Kira could use it as she worries for how the war may be affecting her friend and former padawan.  
Unfortunately, there’s been a tension building up inside of the human and Ktila has begun to sense it within her. The apprehension has even started to physically appear across her features, even though Kira does her best to keep it down.

“Kira, are you alright?”

The younger Jedi glances her way in surprise, as if being taken out of her thoughts.  
“What?”

“You don’t look all too well.”

She opens her mouth as if to comment on it but then waves dismissively.  
“No, I…I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? If there’s something on your mind, you’re free to say it.”

Probably easier said than done, as there are several subjects lingering in her thoughts.  
“I just…I wonder if we really need to be out here.”

“You’d rather have taken the ship? I was just thinking that it would be more refreshing with-“

“No, I’m not talking about our mode of transportation. I mean…is it really necessary for us to be out here at all?”

Ktila peers at her thoughtfully, pulling up one of her hands to steady a strap of her backpack. It’s not all too heavy as they didn’t feel the need to bring that much.  
“We’ve already been wandering for two days. You want to go back now?”

“It’s not too late, is it?”

Technically, she is correct. It’s not too late until they’ve actually arrived, which Ktila assumes is what Kira wishes to avoid. It’s not an unreasonable request from Kira’s point of view either. There’s several reasons why she wouldn’t want to meet the person they intend to speak with.  
“Kira, if you’re…afraid, I don’t mind speak-“

_“I’m not afraid!”_  
The outburst echoes out across the woods, spreading itself through the wilderness. In the distance, they see how some avian creatures rises into the sky as a reaction from the loud and somewhat scary noise.  
Kira almost begins to breathe a bit heavier but she immediately tries to settle herself, not wanting to break apart.  
“It’s just…”

There’s really no need for explanations as Ktila knows how she feels. They’ve been living side by side for a long enough time that she knew this might happen. In fact, she had calculated it as a possible outcome, but hoped that Kira herself could see the use in coming here. There’s issues she too needs to confront.  
Ktila takes a few steps closer then and places a comforting hand upon her shoulder.  
“Kira, I’m here for you. No matter what happens and no matter what it’s about, you can rely on me.”

Something within Kira wishes to continue the struggle but a more reasonable part realizes the truth in Ktila’s words. She decides to push closer, leaning into a slight hug as Ktila wraps the arm around her back.  
“I know and I…appreciate your support.”

Ktila nuzzles her nose gently into Kira’s hair as she rubs one arm as well.  
“When we get back to the ship, we can do something of your choice.”

Despite the unease in the background, Kira manages to smile slightly.  
“Vette sent some interesting vids over about a week ago. Could be nice to watch them together.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”  
For a few hours, they manage to let these more joyful thoughts take root and distract them from what is to come. Of course, it is inevitable that they will finally reach their destination regardless.

Ktila isn’t quite sure what she expected that they’d reach when she was given directions from back in the temple. Naturally, people had tried to dissuade her from making the journey at all and not just out of some kind of fear for what might’ve happened to the man. While they hoped to monitor his situation, he had been given the freedom to be alone with the hope that meditation and solitude would somehow help him heal.  
What they do find is quite a pleasant little area. A small cabin made out of mostly wood although hardly of his own make. He must’ve had some help to get that done.  
On the outside, there’s a fenced off garden with a fairly large variety of vegetables. Is he being self-sustaining? Or perhaps it is simply something to do. If she concentrates on the Force, Ktila is certain she can sense running water not too far away, so it is possible.

Syo Bakarn himself is sitting on the ground not too far from the door to his house. His legs are crossed, hands placed upon them while his eyes remain closed in a meditative state. Through the Force, he is a calming presence. Even with the tension in Kira, she is somewhat relaxed by the sight and sensation. He is still dressed in robes but these ones are grey and far less intricate.  
Once they’re close enough, he opens his eyes again and a slight smile adorns his lips.  
“This is unexpected. I didn’t know I’d get visitors and such fascinating ones as well. Master Ktila, it is a pleasure to see you.”

“Master Syo, it has been a while.”

“Ah, don’t use that title. I’m not a master anymore. I’m simply…an old man.”  
He smiles somewhat wistfully when saying it. That’s until his sight drifts to Kira and he suddenly looks rather unsure. For whatever reason, he had not quite seen who Ktila had brought until now.  
“Kira…”

There’s no response from Kira, something that Ktila had expected. She hopes to bring their focus away from any possible confrontation.  
“You have a very fine house and garden, ma-…Syo. The Council members I spoke to hadn’t gone into much detail. It seems very peaceful.”

He manages another smile as he rises from his position and dusts off the lower parts of his robes.  
“Aye, I like it here. I received some aid from Kalikori village to get it built, which I compensated them for. Their matriarch was quite happy to help out.”

That doesn’t come as much of a surprise to Ktila. Her thoughts are momentarily distracted by a certain young matriarch and the few pleasant nights they spent together. Feels like an eternity ago now for her but in reality, it’s just a few years.  
“I’m glad that someone gets along with them. They…deserve better than what has been given to them in the past.”

Syo sighs briefly.  
“You’re right, of course. Just another regret from my time on the Council.”

He both looks and feels remorseful as he says it, so Ktila has little incentive to believe otherwise. She didn’t come here to make him remember the past in the Jedi, though.  
“Syo, me and Kira have come here hoping to speak with you regarding something…quite important.”

His mind appears to return to the present for now.  
“Of course, I’m always ready to help the Jedi out if you need me. What concerns you?”

Ktila hesitates momentarily. They did come with rather important concerns but there’s also something which tells her not to go all out. It’s too late now though. Too late for regrets.  
“The danger which still lurks in the galaxy – the Sith Emperor.”

The look he displays is of a rather odd mix – it is as if he is both shocked and having expected it. Perhaps she midjudges it though, as it might just be fear instead.  
“Ah, yes, of course. I heard rumors that you defeated him but…I suppose nothing is that simple.”

“Not with the Emperor.”

Syo takes a deep breath and attempts to steady himself.  
“Very well. Do you wish to come inside and have some tea? I believe it’s preferable to standing out here.”

“Sure, we accept your offer.”  
  


* * *

  
During the minutes in which the tea is prepared, Kira and Ktila gets some time to sit by themselves inside his cabin. All of it is just one large room, giving space for a bed, a fireplace, a table with some cushions on the floor and small kitchen. There’s apparently a toilet somewhere on the outside.  
Syo is still within hearing range most of the time, so the two Jedi sit in silence as they wait. It is somewhat more awkward than what Ktila may have hoped but, it is better than a fight.

Once he joins them again, he arrives with the cups on a tray which he hands out. They sip on the tea that has a rather refreshing and somewhat sweet taste, which works fine with her. Kira may feel differently but does not express it.  
As they wait for their drinks to cool down a bit, Ktila decides to resume their conversation.  
“Did you meet with matriarch Ranna much when they helped you with the house?”

It’s always a good idea to start gentle in her mind, which helps to focus his thoughts.  
“Ah yes, I did. She was the one who handled the trade with me and showed where my own skills could aid them.”  
He raises a hand to stroke his beard.  
“She asked about you, actually.”

“Did she?”

“Yes, there was a…certain fondness in her voice when she spoke of you. I told her what I knew but, unfortunately it wasn’t much. She appreciated it nonetheless.”

Ktila smiles wistfully and shakes her head. She did visit the village a few months back, making sure that they were still doing alright. Ranna had not mentioned speaking with any Jedi Master, however.  
“We got to know each other during the months I spent on Tython for my padawan trials. I have rather fond memories myself. I should probably return there at some point again.”

The conversation appears to interest Kira as well, perhaps something she wishes to speak of later. For now though, the situation with Syo is too distracting.  
“If you do, say hello from me and tell them that I am available to aid them again, if necessary.”

“I will.”  
She takes another sip from her tea and lets it linger in her mouth, hoping to test at least one more subject before moving to the important bits.  
“You don’t regret the loss of your position in the Council?”

He shares a somewhat doubtful look with her before he gazes down into his cup.  
“I’m not sure what that would do for me, after what was revealed.”

“Well, they were very quick to...judge you, even after all you had done for the Order.”

He shrugs, appearing somewhat tired. He has a lot of had time to go over these events and must’ve done so vigorously in the past.  
“Perhaps but, they did what they thought was necessary. I do not fault them for it, as even I mistrusted myself after all that occurred.  
Besides, I trust in master Iron as my replacement. I’m certain she’ll do a fine job and is likely far more suitable for it than me.”

She doesn’t say anything, but Ktila highly doubts it. She recalls Syo’s words of forgiveness for Kira after the truth of her past was revealed. Iron did not show the same kindness – quite the opposite. Whenever Iron has been on Tython afterwards, Ktila has avoided coming to the planet and hopes it continues that way. It’s not really good to have an enemy in the Order itself and while that’s not quite what they are, she can’t help the sense of mistrust for the miraluka.  
“If you say so.”  
There’s even further silence between them for a while then, and all three seem to enjoy it. No doubt, they’re all anticipating what is to come.  
“I believe we must speak of the Emperor. That is why we came, after all.”

He was just taking a sip at that time, but slowly places it back on the table and sighs briefly.  
“Yes, you’re…you’re right. I’m here to help you, so I’ll answer any questions that I can.”

“We haven’t had much chance to speak really, so I suppose I should start from the beginning. How much do you know of the Emperor and what was done to you?”

Kira watches him intently now as well and he puts his hands together while contemplating the question.  
“I…I don’t know what to tell you, unfortunately. The truth is, I do not remember.”

“Nothing at all?”

He shakes his head, a grim look set on his face.  
“There are…images, certain flashbacks that I can recall. Nothing substantial, nothing that could help me puzzle together exactly how this could’ve happened or why I was chosen.”

Before Ktila manages to continue, Kira gets a few words in.  
“You have a separate…personality, right? You can’t access his memories?”

He gazes up at the younger Jedi and nods briefly.  
“The First Son, the one who led and shielded the Children in secret. Unfortunately, I’m not even sure him and I are of the same minds. I haven’t quite been able to determine the complete nature of it but, sometimes it feels more like…two people in the same body. The best I can do right now is suppress him.”

Kira goes quiet again, seeming even more troubled. Ktila folds her arms and scowls in thought.  
“It feels odd that you have no memories of this. You are still…well, in your body. There must be something, unless they’ve made sure you completely forgot them.”

He shrugs once more.  
“Perhaps that is true, but I cannot be sure. Maybe I can access the First Son’s memories as well, but I must tear down his defenses to even try. So far, I have only been able to keep him back. He is…very powerful.”  
Syo shuts his eyes.  
“What I can say, however, is that my own youth appears a lot less…real to me now. The things I can recall, the memories I thought I had lived, they feel distant somehow. As if they never happened. It is a very…surreal experience.”

Even if it is not quite the same thing, Ktila can somewhat understand how it is like. Nightmares from her captivity by the Emperor, his mind penetrating hers…they linger and she sometimes do not know if what her memories tell her are true.  
“I understand more than you know.”

He looks into her faintly glowing red eyes and nods.  
“It is not impossible for me to succeed, but I must continue to meditate. I need time.”

Yet again, Kira bursts into the conversation, this time with her voice somewhat raised.  
“Do you still hear the voices?”

Not quite what either had expected. Syo widens his eyes, while Ktila tries to protest  
“Kira…”

Kira is frowning towards Syo, although it’s uncertain whether it’s actually directed at him. Syo merely raises a calming hand.  
“It’s…it’s okay. The question is important to her and she should be allowed to ask it.  
And regretfully, I believe I do.”

It seems like they’re just going up and down today. Ktila would’ve hoped this could help bring answers to both her and Kira, but she’s not as sure she wants them anymore.  
“Are you certain?”

“No, I’m not. I cannot say for sure what is true anymore but, while I wish to believe I am free of the Emperor, I’m not sure whether the entity is actually dead.”  
He begins to hold both hands around his cup, which is still warm.  
“Sometimes, when I attempt to meditate or when I try to have as much calm and quiet around me as possible, I believe I still hear whispers, the same ones that began to push into my mind after I had to fight the First Son. The problem is that I do not know if it truly is the Emperor…or if First Son is simply trying to destabilize me. That is entirely possible as well, after all.”

Kira sighs deeply, looking troubled and a bit saddened.  
“Yeah. Sometimes I…I think I can hear him too.”

Ktila swiftly turns to her, shocked by this revelation.  
“What? You haven’t told me about this.”

“I know, because…I didn’t want to worry you. I’m not even sure if it is real either. It’s like, at times when it’s really quiet, I can almost hear whispers somewhere in the distance. They’re so faint however, that I cannot hear any words. Is it truly whispers or just my mind playing tricks on me?  
It’s…frustrating.”

She clenches her fists and her jaw tightens. Ktila has not been having the same experience, but she understands her friend’s problem. She reaches out to gently squeeze Kira’s hand. She’s somewhat relieved that it’s not as similar as to what happened with Suri, the one which reached out to them but then left anyway.  
Syo exhales and shakes his head.  
“It appears to be an annoying trait of the Emperor, to make his subjects fear themselves and their own sanity.”

“Have you spoken to any of the other Children after you and master Iron defeated the First Son?”

“No, I have not. I prefer the solitude I have been allowed here and I do not want to get involved with the troubles that currently plague the galaxy. It is…too much for me.”  
Both of the Jedi on the opposite side slump their shoulders a bit, thinking about what has been said and how little they truly know. Syo appears to understand their sentiment.  
“I apologize for not having much to give you and that it may have been fruitless for you to come all the way out here.”

Ktila shakes her head as well then.  
“Don’t say that, master Bakarn. Even if we cannot locate the truth of the Emperor, you gave us something more to go on and further clues into how disturbing his power is. That is enough.”

Kira nods in agreement.  
“If anything, it’s good to know that we’re not alone in our struggles.”

He gives them both a small smile.  
“I’m not much use if you ever have to encounter him again but, I am willing to share information.”

Ktila bows her head briefly.  
“We thank you for the offer. We do appreciate it.”

Kira hesitates, not wanting them to leave without asking something important of her own.  
“Master Syo, would it be alright if we also just come back at a later date and…perhaps meditate together?”

He seems to have anticipated this reaction but takes it as a welcoming thought.  
“Certainly, you’re welcome into my home whenever you wish, Kira. I believe it could do some good for all of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Don't know if I've said it before, but Ktila and Kira's friendship is as important to me as the one between Zal, Vette and Jaesa._
> 
> _We'll continue with more Jedi next chapter, as I move onto Iron'zeranz (and Nadia) again._


	15. Widened access (JC)

Being in the midst of a war does not help Iron much with her foremost interests.  
She understands the difficulties for many regarding the loss of life, homes and their loved ones. She saw and heard it during the last war as well, even though she was not quite as active. But for her, the war itself feels too much like a distraction and an inconvenience. Instead of doing what’s important, like improving one’s knowledge, skills and comprehension, the Republic and Empire feels the need to throw themselves against each other and Iron is required to be there to protect one side. What else can she do? She has the talents and proficiency to act, so it is the most logical conclusion to get involved. At times however, she wishes she could be traversing the stars without involvement in such a trivial fight. 

These are thoughts which linger when she sits inside of her cabin within the ship that was given to her over a year ago now, perhaps even two. It’s one of those few moments when she can actually be alone and remove herself from all the distractions in the galaxy. This usually means studying, as always. There are so many books, scrolls and texts which she has yet to absorb and it does not make it easier with how other species consume information so differently from her own. 

When she has just gotten into a rhythm of relaxation, there’s a brief knock on the wall. She takes in a deep breath and then prepares herself for whatever social interaction that awaits.  
“Enter.”

The door slides open and Nadia stands outside. The sight allows Iron some respite as she actually feels comfortable around her padawan.  
Nadia glances down on the floor, where Iron is sitting upon a cushion.  
“Am I disturbing you, master?”

“You are interrupting but not disturbing.”

The padawan looks somewhat unsure then, as she still has some difficulties reading her master at times.  
“Oh eh…do you want me to come back later, then?”

“No, I said you were not disturbing. You may come in.”

“Okay, sure.”  
Nadia enters, giving the room a quick glance. It looks as it usually does, in a rather orderly fashion. There’s a terminal in one of the corners, or what looks like one anyway, a few tables and chairs, some storage boxes and lights. There’s not much in terms of personalized decoration, which she may not care for. Or perhaps she just cannot see it? Nadia still doesn’t quite understand how the miraluka vision works.  
“I wanted to speak to you about something. It regards a book you mentioned a few days ago.”

Obviously, this gets Iron’s attention as she has a great fondness for speaking of what she reads.  
“Which one?”

“It was that one about Force practices in the Outer Rim. During the last mission, you recommended that I should read it.”

Iron nods briefly.  
“Ah yes, of course. It is always good to expand one’s knowledge. Let me find it for you.”  
Nadia sees how Iron turns her head a few degrees, raises a hand and opens one of her boxes with the use of the Force. A few datapads smoothly drifts out from it, as if being carried by a stream through the air. They land on the table nearby and Iron begins to examine them.  
“Hmm, give me a moment.”

Nadia leans somewhat closer, gazing at the devices with interest. She’s seen some of these before but, they’re always rather curious. It’s a mix of miraluka and typical Republic datapad design. Because of their inability to see like many other species do, they cannot read the datapad screens like them, forcing them to apply special symbols and marks upon their technological devices so that they can still read what others create and write some of their own.  
When the pads are in front of Iron, she doesn’t look at the screens specifically, but rather runs her fingers across some markings on the top.  
“Is it one of these?”

“Yes. Some of these do not have enough space, so I have had to utilize several.”

Nadia is somewhat surprised to hear it.  
“Whoa, you’ve got that many texts stored in them?”

“Of course. There are many thousands of cultures out there, Nadia, and I believe it is appropriate to accumulate as much of their knowledge as possible. Unfortunately, digital storage is not endless either.”  
Eventually, she stops at a specific one and nods in satisfaction.  
“Ah, this should be the one.”

Turning her hand around, Iron telekinetically moves it over towards Nadia and it lands gently in the padawan’s hands.  
While taking it, she turns it around in her hand a bit. It’s not all too often she gets to interact with her master’s devices.  
“Heh, this one looks pretty cool.”

Iron tilts her head as she hears it.  
“You haven’t started reading it yet.”

Nadia giggles in reaction.  
“No, I don’t mean the text! I was talking about your datapad.”

“Oh. What about it?”

“I was just think it has an interesting design, kind of unique in a way. Certainly different from most other ones I’ve seen.”

Iron relaxes in her seat and places her hands in her lap.  
“Hmm, I suppose I haven’t looked upon it that way. Most miraluka technological equipment is not designed for aesthetics but for convenience and usage. Although, ones infused with the Force may be different.”

Nadia realizes this fact, turning it around in her hands. It’s got different symbols on several areas, but also distinguishable lines. The screen is somewhat smaller than certain other pads.  
“Is it not a bit…frustrating, then?”

“In what way?”

“Well I mean, most devices in the Republic are designed for people with…you know, eyes like my kind and of course the humans. I feel like many do not take miraluka and all sorts of other species that have problems to consume information in that way, into consideration.”

Iron ponders this idea, somewhat agreeing with it as she has thought in similar ways herself.  
“You have a point, of course, and it is certainly true for many commercial products. This is not to say that the entire Republic works in the same way. There are those companies and institutions which keeps us in mind and tries to make devices capable of being used by a variety of species. Then of course, my people are not without our own engineers and crafters. They often work with official Republic manufacturers to produce something which we are capable of using.  
There are obviously visual shows and programs which we cannot partake of on normal screens but, it is possible to find ways for us to see those as well.”

“I suppose you’re right but, feels like there are still a lot of things that can improve.”

“Of course, that is always the case. However, regarding visual information, most species within the Republic are still compatible with that kind of information, like yours. I would not expect the majority to alter everything to suit a minority which may not be able to enjoy it as much.”

Nadia scowls, almost pouting a bit as she thinks of it.  
“I dunno, I think it would be fair to at least try.”  
Iron will not fault her padawan for caring. It would certainly be preferable for her and many other miraluka, but she does not expect such a sweeping change in their favor.  
“But hey, does that mean you guys use other types of ways to create and communicate? Other than visually.”

“Yes, of course. On Alpheridies, many people utilize voice activation and audio cues for example. In many public areas, there are buttons and specifically marked areas with signs, much like you see here on the datapad. It helps us to share information and directions. Just writing a text on it, like humans do, would not help us much. We need something which we can distinguish.  
Naturally, there are ways in which we utilize visuals as well, mostly through Force crystals.”

While she mentions this, Nadia’s eyes drifts over towards the terminal in the corner. It does not have buttons like some of the datapads, but rather just three crystals – green, yellow and red.  
“Like the ones over there? I can feel a presence from them.”

Iron nods briefly.  
“Indeed. These ones are not quite as powerful as some of the crystals we see in weapons, but grow rather frequently on our world. We utilize them mostly in different technology, allowing us quick access visually as well as mentally. To use that terminal, I simply need to connect with the crystals, allowing me to browse the information within.”

“Right. But if that’s so useful, why does not every piece of miraluka technology have it?”

“It is not that simple. We may see through the Force, but one’s strength within it varies per individual. A lot of people do not have the same affinity as one such as me. Some simply have the capability to see, but not use the mental connections. Therefore, we must adapt technology for as many as possible.”

Nadia surveys the terminal curiously from afar, a smile playing across her lips.  
“You think I could use that thing like you do?”

“Possibly, although it may be disorienting before you have familiarized yourself with it. Have you ever utilized a holocron?”

She looks somewhat unsure and shakes her head.  
“No, I…I haven’t had the opportunity to do so yet.”

“The sensation of activating such a device is similar, but the connection is even more dependent on the mental, meaning you may require some training to begin with.”

When Nadia first became Iron’s padawan, she found it rather difficult to connect with her master. They almost seemed to have no fields of interests which they shared and Nadia did not know what to say.  
Now however, she understands Iron better and every time there’s something new, she immediately begins to prod and ask about it, something which appears to please the miraluka. It strengthens their bond and makes Nadia rather happy.  
“You think you could teach me someday, master?”

“Of course, any time you wish.” 

“I guess we have another mission coming up once we land but, perhaps we could try to do so afterwards?”

“That sounds like a splendid idea and I very much look forward to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I got inspired to write a bit about miraluka technology, or rather how they use it, from an acquaintance a while back. Since they don't see in the same way that many other species do in Star Wars, I thought it could be fun to explore it somewhat with how curious Nadia is._   
>  _Obviously, I am quite excited to write about these two whenever I can._


	16. Truthgazers (IA)

The search for the shipment of HK droids has been not borne fruit for the past several weeks. From what Raina and Doctor Lokin has told Cierah, it’s a lot more elusive than they expected. They’ve already pushed their resources quite harshly and soon it may come down to either giving up entirely or reallocating some from another area. Fortunately, Raina decided to offer her an alternative, although one that is not without risk. 

That is why they find themselves on a remote world somewhere out in the so called ‘unknown region’. It is a part of the galaxy where neither the Republic nor the Empire have explored much and many of these systems are still uncharted. Not that there’s no traffic at all out here. Several species and smaller civilizations hail from these regions, the chiss being one of those. Because of their allegiance to the Empire though, Cierah is still uncertain whether or not she’d like to interact with them. Might be best to stay away for the time being.

Both of them are dressed somewhat differently to blend in. This part of the planet they’re on is rather cold right now, forcing them to wear warmer clothes. Cierah keeps warm leggings on, with a thick coat and a polo neck shirt beneath. The coat also has a hood attached, meaning she can cover her face somewhat. All of it is in black of course – some habits are difficult to break.  
In the meantime, Raina is dressed in a shorter jacket above longer pants, with a long scarf around her neck and a hat with goggles attached. The goggles are currently placed on top of the hat. Hers are a mixture of dark blue and black. 

They’re currently standing in an alley outside a building which Cierah probably would classify as a cantina. The dark sky doesn’t offer much illumination, but artificial neon lights takes care of that problem. It stands in contrast with the otherwise rather grey district.  
It’s not a particularly big place and on this evening, it appears to be half-full. With her cybernetic eye opened, she can detect illegal substances in the air, although not some that she would consider to be unique for this planet. Many unruly places on all parts of the galaxy have similar establishments. Some of those who enter are clearly armed too, but nothing out of the ordinary.  
“Where’s this friend of yours then?”

She doesn’t speak loud enough to be heard by anyone else but Raina, who’s positioned next to her. The younger agent has tried her best to survey the entrance to the cantina, along with those walking upon the street but shakes her head somewhat.  
“I haven’t seen her anywhere yet. Perhaps she’s simply late.”

Cierah snorts and folds her arms. Luckily, she isn’t really that cold as her substantial number of cybernetic implants allows her to moderate her body temperature at will.  
“I have to point out that being delayed is not a point in her favor.”

Raina is not equipped in the same manner as her superior and she’s currently hugging herself to keep some of the heat inside. She expresses a look of uncertainty at the statement.  
“Well erm, we didn’t give her a whole lot of time to prepare either, sir.”

“You told me that she was one of the best in the industry. Reacting on a short timetable should not be a problem.”

“You’re right of course but, we can’t expect everyone to be as skilled as you are, sir.”

Cierah suddenly closes the mechanical eyepatch over her eye, which is done automatically and then turns her gaze towards Raina.  
“Flattery from you won’t win her any points either, Raina.”

At that, she smiles sweetly in Cierah’s direction, hoping it’s somewhat disarming.  
“I hope you won’t blame me for trying.”

There’s no response more than a shake of her head. Cierah thought about continuing their banter for a little bit but something else is distracting her.  
While she will admit that there are some activities which sometimes escapes her, the enhancements that were implanted in her body years ago now have greatly increased her perception. That is why she usually notices movement in almost all directions and she certainly senses that something is off right now. In a swift move, she grabs her blaster pistol by the belt and aims to turn it behind her, but before she manages to, something metallic and cold is placed at her neck. She was sloppy, wasn’t she?

“I wouldn’t try to do that if I were you.”

The voice rattles Raina, enough to make her twitch and step to the side. It is of mechanical nature and emitted from some kind of speakers. When seeing what’s happening, she just barely constrains herself from drawing her weapon.  
“Who…who are you?”

The sight in front of her isn’t particularly comforting either. She can see an individual fully dressed in some kind of white and grey armor, blending in rather well in the snowy and industrial area around them. The helmet on their head has a visor that covers most of the front, also in grey, but it is not transparent, making it impossible to see through. Different wires and tubes are extended up into a pack on the back, the boots as well as the gauntlets. A scabbard for a vibrosword is also attached on the back, but the blade itself is currently extended to reach Cierah’s neck.  
This individual is taller than both of them, but not by much.  
“I believe I shall be asking the questions here.”

To her credit, Cierah’s expression is currently unfazed and she merely remains still. That she hasn’t been killed yet is a positive sign.  
“Sneaking up on us like this is unwise.”

They hear a snort from their foe. The voice is still difficult to distinguish, but Cierah believes she can hear a slight accent which is neither imperial nor republic. Probably to be expected out here.  
“This is rather dangerous territory, imperials. It is probably more unwise for you to be out here.”

“I tend to be fully prepared wherever I go. This whole area is rigged with explosives which I can set off.”

She gains a short laughter in return.  
“And kill yourself as well? I doubt you’d be ready to go so willingly.”

“You don’t know me very well then.”

The tension is thick between them and Raina swallows as they go quiet for a few seconds. She probably needs to interfere.  
“H-hold on, we mean you no harm. We’re just here waiting for a friend.”

The helmet is slightly turned towards her instead.  
“A friend, you say? What a coincidence, so am I. Unfortunately, she’s not as cautious as I once taught her to be.” 

At first, she’s not sure what it means, but then Raina begins to widen her eyes.  
“Wait a moment. Are you telling me that you’re…?”

The sword is suddenly lowered away from Cierah, as quickly as it appeared. The individual pushes it back into its sheath and then moves their hands to the helmet. A few buttons are pushed, with a hissing noise being emitted.  
Cierah has put her own weapon down as well, and turns around just in time to see a woman being revealed beneath. The scarlet eyes and teal skin is a dead giveaway, although she certainly hadn’t expected to meet a chiss out here. She’s also got dark brown hair with a few grey streaks, reaching down to the edge of her neck, which stirs in the wind.  
“I was sure you’d recognize me on the spot. Another surprise, I must admit.”

Immediately after, Raina breaks out into a smile, leaps up to the woman and embraces her.  
“Nevasc! You scared both of us, dammit!” 

The chiss shows a small smile as she slightly returns the embrace. Cierah holsters her weapon and then folds her arms.  
“I think you’re overestimating my emotional reaction, Raina.”

Nevasc turns her sharp gaze over towards Cierah. There’s some minor evidence of age upon her face but no imperfections in terms of scars or other lasting marks. With how she snuck up on them so efficiently though, she’s clearly got experience.  
“I would say that I’m impressed that you noticed me, but as I know who you are, I am instead somewhat disappointed that it took you so long.”

Cierah sighs and shrugs.  
“I suppose I will admit that you are rather talented too. My attention was directed elsewhere, however.”

The excuse isn’t particularly appealing, and she knows that.  
“Maybe, but that is not something I would accept in a situation like this. As far as I’m aware, you are both wanted by the Empire as well as the Republic. Being careless is not recommended during such a situation.”

Raina sighs and looks down with an uncertain gaze.  
“I apologize that we were not more attentive. We’ve just had a lot to do lately.”

Not wanting to blame her subordinate too much, Cierah tries to move on.  
“Well, I assume you are the contact we were waiting for. Raina has not informed me of much beyond that, however. Did you work together in the Expansionary Defense Force?”

Nevasc watches Cierah with interest, as if she’s looking for something. Could be a weakness or simply a wish to find possible deceptions.  
“Aye, we did.”

That’s as far as it goes, but Raina considers further details to be necessary.  
“Actually, that’s not the entirety of it. Sir, Nevasc here was the one who helped initiate me into the chiss forces overall. She knew my father.”

This revelation appears to be something that neither Cierah nor Nevasc anticipated would happen. While the information is new for the agent, there must be something else that surprises Nevasc. She hasn’t seen it happen before, but suddenly the chiss begins speaking to Raina in their tongue, cheunh, and Raina responds in the same language. As Cierah has no way of actually translating this, she’s unfortunately left outside of the discussion for a short while. If there’s something she despises, it’s when people speak over her head when they’re standing right next to her.  
She remains patient however, as about a minute goes by of quickly expressed arguments, before they both return their gazes to the agent.  
“It appears she trusts you quite a lot, Cipher.”

It’s hard to tell whether she’s surprised or suspicious of this claim, but it matters little.  
“I’d like to think that I’ve earned it too. We have worked together for a fairly substantial amount of time. I believe we have learnt a lot from this cooperation.”

Raina nods in agreement.  
“I consider her both a friend and a mentor of sorts. Most of all, I trust her.”

Cierah isn’t sure whether that’s either prudent nor healthy. She’s never seen herself as much of a teacher, even with her varied experience through the years.  
It’s enough to convince Nevasc to a certain degree, however.  
“Very well, then you deserve to know more. It is true what Raina says – I knew her father, Cipher Three, and he came to me when he needed to hide Raina from the Sith. I helped refine some of her training while she worked among us and later assigned her to the CEDF.”

“I see. And who are you, exactly? What is it that you do?”

Amusement glistens in her eyes and she takes a few steps to the side, keeping her sight trained at the agent.  
“Your curiosity is not surprising for a former Intelligence agent, but because of those associations, I cannot tell you everything.”

“But if Raina knows you, then it might be possible that she reveals it to me later on. Why not just do it yourself now?”

Raina clears her throat, finding the situation somewhat awkward. Cierah’s point of view is very plausible, after all. The chiss steps up to the wall of one of the buildings they’re standing between and leans her back against it.  
“Even she does not know every detail of me, but you are partially correct. To make things easier for us both, I suppose I can tell you the basics.  
You may call me Nevasc. If you have not yet guessed it, you and I work within the same industry.”

“You work in some kind of chiss intelligence agency in the CEDF then?”

“My organization does not work for the CEDF, but we have cooperated with them.”

“Who do you work for then?”

Nevasc tilts her head slowly and places her hands behind her back.  
“The Aristocra have authorized our existence and authority. We…watch different organizations both from within and outside.”

Some kind of internal affairs group? They would probably not be as secretive if that’s the case. Cierah realizes that simply prodding her won’t get any answers. If she wants to know, she’ll have to investigate it on her own later.  
“Is it safe to assume that few within the Empire knows of you?”

“Yes, from the way we operate, I’m confident it is highly unlikely that anyone currently within any position of power knows of us.”  
Cierah frowns at the implication but does not comment.  
“With the disassembly of Imperial Intelligence, it is even less likely that anyone would be aware of our existence.”

Cierah snorts and shakes her head, being reminded once more of the foolishness within her own home.  
“I suppose it’s just another mistake on my former superiors’ part, then.”

“It certainly was. From what I understand, it has also complicated your lives. Both of you now sit with prices on your heads, originating from various locations in the galaxy. I’m not lying when I say that it makes me worried.”

Another bit of information they already know of. In fact, at this level, it’s possible that both Jovana and her friend Bery would be jealous of the way it’s going up.  
“We are doing our best to remain as elusive as possible.”

Raina attempts to offer a reassuring smile.  
“Aye, I believe we can handle it, Evas. No one has gotten even close so far.”

“Don’t be so sure. I was able to sneak up on you rather easily.”

Cierah arches one of her eyebrows in response.  
“After we gave you the location, yes.”

“Anyone could’ve received it. Just saying that you should be more cautious.”

Is it because of her age that she believes she can school these two? Cierah does not feel like she needs any further lessons at this point in her life. She’s gone through such hardships that few other can compare.  
Regardless, Raina interjects to bring them back on track.  
“Evas, I thought maybe we could talk about why I called you here. We’d like to discuss a possible...alliance, I suppose.”

She watches the two carefully before she crosses her arms.  
“I see. For what purpose?”

Raina turns to Cierah, allowing her to give the details.  
“It’s not so much an alliance as a trade. We need help to locate something, which Raina here seems to believe you have the resources for. In return, we are ready to give you information which most likely would be of interest to you.”

Nevasc raises a brow in doubt.  
“Information? You believe you have enough of value that it would be beneficial to us?”

“I do. I have a variety of reports, documents and files regarding the substantial investigations of chiss during our entire cooperation and some beforehand as well. We even have some perspectives from the Republic SIS.”

“Did I not make it clear that we watch our allies rather closely, Cipher? If you seek to trade your people’s knowledge of us, it is a rather poor offer. It’s very likely that we already know more than you do.”

Cierah snorts and shakes her head. She’s more used to her own people being arrogant, but it appears the chiss have just as much of it. Perhaps that’s why they like to work together.  
“You think just because Intelligence is dismantled now that you know all about us? You underestimate our capabilities and the length that Intelligence has always been ready to go in order to get what we need. Not even the SIS could match us before the downfall.  
Perhaps Cipher Three has told you what he knew in the past, but I assure you, it does not even get close to what I have acquired.”  
She takes several steps closer to Nevasc, although her tone remains even and consistent.  
“The reasons for dismantling Intelligence was partially because of me and the actions I took during my time working for them. What I’ve seen and heard are things which both the Empire and the Republic would fear. You will want the information I have to offer; I can guarantee it.”

Her resolute attitude and the certainty of her words does hit the right spots in Nevasc and it intrigues her. To make sure it’s not all an act however, she glances at Raina but can spot no obvious skepticism in her eyes either.  
“Let us say that I decide to cooperate with you – what is it that you want in return?”

Cierah gestures at Raina who steps closer and lifts up a small holoprojector from her pocket. When she starts it up, a small hologram of a droid appears above it. The figure is quite familiar.  
“We are searching for a shipment of droids by the model HK-51 that disappeared a few decades ago. It was to be used during the last war by the Empire, but it never arrived. We’ve spent a lot of time trying to locate it, but to no avail.”  
She raises her gaze to meet Nevasc’s.  
“I know how capable you and your people are, Evas, and while it may be risky, I’d very much appreciate the help.”

Her plea is definitely earnest, but Nevasc doesn’t like the sound of their goal.  
“I have heard of this type of droid before, but from a different model. You do realize how dangerous they are, yes? We have examined their resourcefulness in the past and it would not be something that I would recommend trying to associate with. Too much autonomy makes them dangerous.”

Well, at least she and Cierah agrees on some level.  
“Your worries are understandable and I will take it into consideration, but we still need access to them. Even if they are not intact, we require a further understanding of their creation procedure. For this war to be won and for us to survive, the HK technology may come in handy.”

Nevasc once again studies the two younger women as well as the hologram. Obviously, a lot is at stake for them here and there are elements which still needs to be answered. She could walk away and not really lose all that much as she does not have to get involved with these troublesome aspects. But then again, she’s done it before and did not hesitate then. Why would this be different?  
She extracts her hand and is soon met by Cierah shaking it.  
“Very well, Cipher, you have a deal. I cannot say I am fully confident in your plan, but with the information you are offering and because I like Raina, I am willing to work with you. Let us hope you do not take any false steps.”

“That has been our life every day since leaving the Empire. We are ready to take a few risks in order to succeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Nevasc is a new OC I've created, although she won't be given a big role in this particular fic. She will return later however, as I plan to write a story with her at some point. It will also include a certain famous red-haired mandalorian._
> 
> _Next chapter will have focus on another red-haired mandalorian - Jovana._


	17. Back in red (BH)

Upon the moon Veltara within the Outer Rim of the galaxy, it is possible to locate the Blood Fist docked on its surface. As war rages in other districts, the mercenary group still finds themselves without a proper assignment or long-term employer. Jovana has decided that it’s best to wait and give Mandalore some time to find his contacts and make sure that they can send a message through the proper channels. Whether it will actually work or not is so far hard to say, as they’ve not been given any messages in return. 

In the meantime, Jov does not simply want to sit and wait. She’s always preferred to be somewhat active, even if it that just means working out a bit. Thankfully, some of her crew are of a similar mind.  
Towards the back of the ship in the largest storage area, Jov is currently engaged in a bit of exercise with the youngest man on her crew. Well, depending on how old Blizz is, of course. She tends to assume that the mandalorian ahead of her is the junior member anyhow. 

Today, they’ve decided to forego any weapons and focus upon going at each other with just their fists. They each wear a set of boxing gloves however, as to not damage each other and themselves all too much. They’re both dressed in a short set of pants, sleeveless shirts and rather thin shoes.  
At first, Torian had tried to hold back somewhat. Not because he believes she’s weak, as he can see the pronounced muscles on her arms and legs, but she tends to fight at range instead so he assumed she’d not be as well-versed in close combat. That was a mistake. 

Immediately at the start, she had launched an assault on his body, delivering hard punches to his gut and a couple to his head too. Perhaps it was to warn him not to underestimate her or maybe that’s just how she usually spars. Either way, he has now adjusted his expectations and can actually match her assaults. Even so, Jov somehow seems to still be winning. While they are just training, they both take it fairly seriously, meaning that Jov utilizes all the tricks she’s learned in the past; both in her current profession but even more so from all the street fights back on Nar Shaddaa. While Torian is also very capable and creates a few bruises for her, he doesn’t usually fight against those with less honest styles. 

And so, yet again, while Torian attempts for a straight assault, Jov avoids or blocks some of his jabs and tries to find a hole in his defenses. His punches do have somewhat more strength in them than hers, but she can endure them. Eventually, she stomps quickly on his feet, surprising him and making him flinch. That gives her the opportunity to deliver a quick attack to the lower end of his side, staggering him. Afterwards, she moves in to get him in the chest and then once in the face as he stumbles backwards.  
She allows him the respite and he breathes heavily, gritting his teeth around his mouthguard as he waits for the pain to subside. He glances up with a slight frown.  
“That’s not a very nice trick.”

Jov grins as she slams her gloves together. They’re both sweating profusely but she doesn’t appear to tire so easily.  
“I don’t like fighting ‘nice’. Our opponents won’t, so our training shouldn’t focus on that either.”

“Some might say that style lacks spirit. And honor.”

She snorts and shakes her head.  
“Oh yeah? Well, they won’t be yapping about honor when they’re dead, will they? You gotta fight smart to survive, kid. Remember that.”  
Torian sighs, but finally gets back to his former position.  
“You wanna go again?”

He gives her a nod as he puts up his fists.  
“I’m ready.”

“This time, try to see if you can exploit my defenses somehow. I’ll try to give you a chance.”

“Don’t go easy on me.”

“Tsk, when do I ever go easy on anyone?”  
They’re just about to begin when they hear a knock from the door. Jov frowns slightly and the two separate.  
“What is it now? Yeah, enter.”

Mako comes walking into the room, her eyes lowered onto a datapad that she holds in her hand. Busy with work as always.  
“Boss, we gotta talk.”

“Can’t it wait? I’m in the middle of training here.”

“No, it can’t.”  
When she looks up, Jov feels something unsettling stir in her gut. Mako appears more serious than usually, which never suggests anything good. She’s easy to read that way.  
“We’ve got a call waiting by the center holoprojector. It’s…from the Empire.”

Jov and Torian widen their eyes and look at each other, before turning to Mako again.  
“Whoa. Eh, I thought you’d created some kind of defense system to block us from their channels?”

“I had and it shouldn’t be possible for them to reach us. I’ve scrambled the frequencies and everything. I mean, I could initiate our comm disruptor but, then we can’t receive any messages.”

Jov frowns and folds her arms.  
“Yeah, that’s not a good idea. We kinda need at least some contact with the rest of the galaxy.”

Mako lowers her arms and nods.  
“Exactly. I guess I just have to accept that the Empire still has way more resources than us. That’s probably why they managed to do it.”

“Well, now that they’ve got us, can’t you block them out somehow?”

Instead of trying to find some way to do so, she suddenly looks unsure.  
“I…suppose I could but, I think it’s best if you take this call. He wants to speaks with you and...I don’t think we wanna piss him off.”

Jov arches a brow.  
“Him?”  
Mako exhales and simply gestures to the area behind her. Well then, it appears that she’ll need to deal with this either way. She frowns once more and moves past her partner. While both of the younger crew members follow her, they eventually end up in the center room. Not too far away, both Gault and Skadge have gathered to watch what’s about to occur. The devaronian sends her a curt nod, but nothing else.  
All of the focus is set upon the hologram that sends out its light across the room. Jov spits out her mouthguard, unties her boxing gloves and tosses them to the side before she turns her entire attention to it.  
“Darth Malgus? Not who I expected to speak with today. Or, you know, ever.”

The tall and pale human stands in his black and thick armor with a long cloak, his arms folded. It’s impossible to fully see his expression as a mask constantly blocks half of his face and allows him to breathe, she assumes. Why he chooses to not get something internal instead, she’ll never know.  
His eyes can be seen however and it’s from there she believes she can see them twisting into something that can be described as amusement.  
“Jovana Vlasic. I hope I’m not disturbing.”  
He indicates her choice of clothing.  
“Or do you prefer ‘Grand Champion’?”

Jov places her hands at her hips and scowls.  
“Jovana works just fine. Why have you contacted me? I didn’t expect to hear anything from the Sith anytime soon.”

He emits some kind of noise, either a snort or a short laugh. It’s hard to tell.  
“You and your crew have been gone for a little while, haven’t you? You hid yourselves rather well, I’d say. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to escape the Empire.” 

She rolls her eyes.  
“I think you’re forgetting the fact that you’ve got vastly more resources. It’s not really a fair fight then, is it?”

“Fair has nothing to do with it, not in this galaxy.”

“What do you want, Malgus? Come to gloat or tell me you’re sending ships our way? You should know we’re not so easy to take down.”

He watches her for a few more moments before he begins to pace, still a look of enjoyment in his gaze.  
“I thought we could have a little chat. Some of us have questions.”

“About what?”

“That should be obvious. A few months ago, you slew Darth Tormen, a pureblood of a rather impressive amount of power. Him and his forces were respected in the Empire and some even believed he’d eventually rise into the ranks of the Dark Council.  
What do you have to say for yourself regarding his death?”

Once more, she arches a brow. It’s rather surprising to hear them send a message to question her like this. Is it to give some kind of public proof of her guilt and purpose behind trying to execute her? It’s a rather odd method, in that case.  
“Dunno what you want me to say. I killed him, yeah. Well, me and a couple of my crew but I did most of the work.”

Mako shakes her head and folds her arms.  
“Not without me keeping you alive, you showoff.”

Jov winks her way before turning to Malgus again.  
“In any case, if you’re wondering why I did it, there’s nothing too complicated about it. I’m not with the Republic, nor did I strike a blow for freedom or against any of your people’s beliefs. Tormen was a challenge and we didn’t get along. When I was given the chance to strike at him, I took it. Simple as that.”

Her answer doesn’t seem to anger him, as he continues to slowly walk back and forth.  
“Interesting. Did you realize how much of a stir your actions caused among the Sith? That a simple mercenary could kill a powerful Sith Lord were rather troubling news.”

She shrugs nonchalantly.  
“I don’t really give a shit. I’m not saying he was easy – quite the opposite. Had to do a lot of preparations and I think his own arrogance clearly took a part in his demise. In the end, though, I don’t regret what I did. If it’s a fight you’re looking for, Sith, I’m not afraid to give you one.”

Her words of challenge surprises most of the crew. Skadge immediately begins laughing and Torian crosses his arms to nod in agreement. Gault and Mako are less happy about it. The devaronian clears his throat.  
“Eh, Captain, should we not take it a little bit easy here? There’s no need to, you know, create unnecessary hostilities.”

Mako nods quickly in agreement.  
“Yeah, think about what you’re saying, boss. We don’t need _more_ enemies.”

She snorts and shakes her head.  
“Be quiet, both of you. If it’s a fight they want, we're not just gonna give up.”

Skadge chuckles again.  
“That’s the spirit! Don’t let these fucking fascist assholes tell us what to do!”

Gault sighs and Mako rubs her forehead miserably. Somehow, they knew it would lead to this and they’re once more regretting leaving Jov in charge. Not that they have much of a choice.  
Despite the gusto, Malgus doesn’t show any further signs of hostility. In fact, he once more emits the short noise they heard previously. Maybe that’s as far as he goes in terms of laughing.  
“Fortunately for all of us, it is not my intent to bring your crew to justice, Vlasic. Quite the opposite, actually.”

Jov narrows her eyes, wondering what he’s got planned. Can she really trust this guy?  
“What do you mean?”

He stops in his tracks now and places his arms behind his back.  
“Tormen was arrogant, narrow-minded, overconfident and a fool. If you hadn’t killed him first, I contemplated committing to that act myself.” 

Malgus is a tough man to read, although she doesn’t notice any obvious signs of deception.  
“Well, you’re not wrong. He was all of those things.”

“Precisely. Personally, I think you executed your kill rather well. It was impressive. Therefore, I’m now wondering if you’d consider returning to the paid service of the Empire.” 

Her turn to pace as she begins walking around the area. She looks to have less fun while doing it, however.  
“And why the fuck would you hire us again? I would’ve thought you’d rather put a price on my head for it.”

Not that it has happened yet, but they had a feeling the Empire may have been waiting for confirmation.  
“Not at all. This isn’t a matter of hiring you all over again. You would simply be resuming the contract you have already signed and we can get back to business.”

They didn’t actually have a contract, but the purpose behind his words make sense. Still, she feels uneasy about it.  
“Uh, and you can just do that? Don’t the Dark Council have a say in this first?”

“You have not heard the news? I am the new head of the Sphere of Military Offense.”

Jov widen her eyes in surprise and then quickly glances towards Mako. The technician meets her gaze and then nods curtly. So, that’s why she was so reluctant to cut the call. They are dealing with the very top.  
“Oh uh, congratulations, I guess?” 

“None are needed. I didn’t come here to gloat nor to ask you probing questions. I know that some of my predecessors and their subordinates have done foolish verdicts, such as what Tormen focused on. I aim to return those assets which were lost to us. You and your crew are certainly one of those which the Empire will have use for. You’re resourceful, powerful and cunning in combat like few other mandalorians I’ve ever encountered. If you join us once more, I will be more than happy to make sure you’re well compensated.”

She was given a similar offer by Tormen and even though she doesn’t entirely regret it, it definitely created problems for her.  
“I should probably remind you that I’m not one to be placed at the front, by the way.”

“Of course not. That would be a severe misuse of your talents. No, I have far better and more crucial targets planned, if you have any interest in my offer.”  
She stops and hesitates. This isn’t something she can so easily decide, not only for herself but to confer with her comrades as well. It seems he might understand this predicament too.  
“There’s no need to answer right away. You have my frequency and the offer shall stand for a while longer. Don’t wait all too long, though, as I need an answer within a few days. I hope we shall speak again, Champion.”

The holocall ends and the illumination within the room dies down somewhat. It leaves the crew in silence of contemplation for what they just experienced.  
Mako is the first one to break it.  
“So uh, that wasn’t quite what I had expected.”

Jov exhales slowly and places her hands at the edge of the holoprojector while leaning against it.  
“Yeah, me neither.”

“What’s our plan, though? Are we gonna take him up on his offer?”

Of course, by ‘we’ she means Jov. They’re in her crew and while they complain about some things she does, they always expect her to make the decisions.  
“I don’t see how we have any choice.”

“There’s always a choice.”

Skadge frowns and snorts.  
“What, are we just gonna go suckin’ up to these bastards? That’ll just make ‘em think they can do anything!”

Jov returns a similar expression.  
“They’re the Empire, Skadge. For the most part, they can. Not saying we’re just gonna lay down and let them take us up the ass but, it’s not like we’ve got any other jobs that can measure up with the kind of credits we can get from this one.”

He admits to that fact and steps back. Mako joins Jov by the projector.  
“Well, I guess we’ve worked for them before and we can do it again. They usually have less restrictions than the Republic anyway. Let’s hope they won’t try to get us killed while we’re at it.”

“You and me both.”

“I can send Malgus a message as soon as possible, if you want.”

Jov stands up and glances off into the distance.  
“Prepare one for me but hold off on sending it. I wanna have a little chat with Cierah before we do anything with this guy. Maybe we can find out for sure whether he’d actually stab us at the first opportunity or not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Got more Bery for the next chapter._


	18. Beyond belief (Sm)

Now that Bery finds herself in a changing galaxy, where power structures are being remade and her own name is replacing some of the older people formerly in charge, she has contemplated not getting involved in some of the more violent and dirtier aspects of the underworld. It’s not like she is forced to, now that she’s attaining enough credits to make people do it for her. However, she has quickly come to realize that she’s not that type of person. As much as she loves a good profit or seeing her name and face attracting a lot of business from several factions, it is difficult for her to simply give up on the occasional raid or smuggling operation.  
Why should she have to do that, anyway? She’s still in the prime of her life and her flying skills are second to none. Well, at least in her opinion, which she values higher than anyone else, save perhaps a certain Sith. 

That’s why she currently finds herself in a rather small and remote Outer Rim world. Its foremost businesses are industry and transportation, as the company who owns it provides these services within the Outer Rim for those that are willing to pay for it.  
Bery isn’t interested in anything they have to offer, but instead wants to find a way inside an old, grey and slightly rusted warehouse. Actually, most of this district has those types of buildings in it, but this particular facility carries items that are of use to her, or rather one in her crew. She’s always ready to help out those she cares for and most of her crew fall into that category. 

The warehouse itself is surrounded by a steel grid fence with electrical wires up top, allowing one to see the grounds within, but still making it impossible to actually enter without going through the gate. Despite that the facility appears quite unremarkable, it is guarded by three individuals dressed in armor and equipped with blasters. Fortunately, the twi’lek has a plan.  
Having removed her sleeveless vest, Bery pulls the zipper on her grey and white shirt down slightly and makes sure that some skin is exposed at the top of her breasts before she reveals herself from the hideout behind another building and approaches them. Her outfit is usually pretty form-fitting anyway, which is mostly to tease her own partner, but comes rather handy right now as well. 

Bery gives the three men her best and sweetest smile, increasing the swaying motions of her hips and allows her lekkus to move in a similar fashion to accentuate the appeal. Two of the guards are humans but it’s impossible to know which species the third one is because of the helmet. When she’s close enough, she raises a hand and waves at them, while taking on an inviting tone.  
“Hello there, gentlemen. You look rather bored.”

She speaks in Huttese, as this planet should be within the region where that language is more common than Basic.  
The three men have already noticed her and she can feel their eyes upon her but it’s not certain whether it’s out of interest or caution. One of the humans raises his voice in a brusque tone.  
“Sorry lady, you gotta clear out. This is private territory and our boss don’t want any problems.”

She tilts her head and places her hands at her hips, stroking them gently as she still continues onwards.  
“Problems? Dunno what you’re expecting from lil me. I just figured you might want some company.”

The man she talks to sighs briefly, but she spots a small smile from the one by his side. The two humans are standing on the outside, while the helmeted fellow is sitting within a booth past the gate.  
“Listen, I understand you’re just working, but you gotta do that elsewhere.”

While he talks, she continues to stroll up to their side until she’s right in front of them. When she’s there, she pushes out her chest slightly and pouts. The whole act is a little bit over the top but she hopes they find it cute somehow.  
“How come? You’re alone here, right? I can’t see anyone else and no cameras around. There won’t be any trouble at all.” 

“Maybe not for you, but we’re just here to get paid.”

“So am I and I promise it’ll be worth your time.”

She wiggles her eyebrows while he shakes his head in annoyance. His friend is looking more eager however. One might be uncomfortable with that kind of lecherous interest for her body, but right here, it is kind of the point and Bery rarely gives much of a damn when others gaze at her. As long as they don’t get close, she usually doesn’t do anything about it.  
“Ah, c’mon Raver, just for a little bit. It’s not like we’re gonna be ambushed in the next five minutes, are we?”

“Someone might, if we allow distractions.” 

The other man shrugs.  
“Fine, then you stay around here while I keep this lovely lady company for a while.”

He gains a glare from the first speaker.  
“What, so I can cover for you? If you do, I’ll put that in my report.”

“Hey, that’s not fair! Don’t need to squeal just ‘cause you’re boring.”

“Then how about you focus on doing your damn job instead and I won’t have to?”  
The argument is perfect for what Bery intended as even the third guard’s attention is upon this conversation and of course, on the Captain herself.  
It’s rather late, so neither of them have noticed the movement coming from the right side of the gates, as someone sneaks closer. In the middle of the argument, a large piece of metal is suddenly throw right at the more lecherous guard, hitting him in the head. He groans and falls to the ground, as the other two look in surprise.  
“Whoa! What the hell?! Ambush!”

As he scrambles for his blaster to aim it towards a large hulking figure out in the darkness, he screams from a sudden pain in his foot and stumbles to his knees. After glancing up, he spots Bery’s blaster revolver aimed right in his face. She smirks.  
“Well, seems your partner should’ve listened to you.”

She doesn’t wait for him to reply and fires another shot right after she stops talking. Unfortunately, as he falls to his death, the guard in the booth has raised his blaster rifle and begins spraying shots in her direction and she curses while running for cover. There’s not a whole lot of that around, except for some rounded pillars that are part of the system of electricity in the area.  
Thankfully, Bery’s companion has snatched a pistol from one of the other guards and while the shots are still flying in the Captain’s direction, they get the chance to gun the guard down. They don’t know for sure if he’s dead but a pained groan can be heard and how the man stumbles backwards onto the floor of the booth. 

When it’s done, she turns to her companion and the zabrak is facing her as well.  
“You okay?”

Bery breathes out and gives her a quick nod.  
“Yeah, I think so. Got pretty close, though. You could’ve aimed at the guy behind the fence first, so I wouldn’t have a rain of blaster shots above me.”

Akaavi grabs her techstaff weapons, spins it around in her hands and then delivers a blow to the head of the first guard they took down. A crunching noise is heard, which makes Bery twitch but the mandalorian looks unfazed.  
“I didn’t have any ranged weapons on me.”

Bery sighs briefly.  
“This is why I told you to borrow one of my blasters!”

“You’re unscathed and the guards are all dead. We were fine.”

“You didn’t know that for sure!”

Akaavi rolls one of the men over and then searches his pockets. After a few seconds, she fishes up a keycard and approaches a pad by the gate.  
“I had every confidence in you, Captain.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“You performed your task well.”  
As the gate slowly slides open, Akaavi grabs something which is attached to her belt and tosses it over towards Bery.  
“Oh, and I believe this is yours.”

Bery grabs her vest when it reaches her and she unfurls it. She hates when it gets wrinkled up like this. Means she needs to get someone to iron it later.  
“Yeah, thanks.”  
She slides it on and pulls the zipper on her shirt back up.  
“So, what’s next?”

“Now, we get into the facility. Follow me.”

The two women quickly make their way across the almost empty concrete field ahead of the warehouse. A few crates are placed here and there, but otherwise there’s not much of interest around.  
They stop in front of a metal large door that should take them inside. There’s more than one entrance to the building, but this one is the only with a keypad, allowing Akaavi to put in the password she had apparently attained elsewhere.  
“You know, Lenorr would be pretty pissed if she knew we were coming here. Or well, if she knew that it’d be just the two of us.”

“Then it is good that she doesn’t.”

Bery takes a deep breath as this door opens up as well, revealing the darkness within. There’s obviously no one working in here right now but, from the intel they’ve acquired, it appears it doesn’t see much activity even on daytime.  
“You still sure you wanna do this? Feels kinda risky.”

“I need what this place offers, so yes. Just stay behind me, follow my lead and we should be fine.”

Knowing there’s no point in arguing with Akaavi, she grabs both of her blasters this time and raises them into the air. They had this discussion before leaving, where Bery didn’t like the idea that Akaavi was apparently going to raid a random warehouse in the middle of nowhere all alone. Most people would perhaps think that it’s no big deal. How much security could this junkyard have anyway?  
But Bery knows that the zabrak never does anything unless it proves to be a challenge. This place is probably more than meets the eye.

Her instincts do not disappoint, for as soon as they take a few steps through the interior, a few searchlights flare up and blaster fire immediately rain down upon them.  
“Son of a bantha, I knew this would happen!”

“Take cover!”

Bery wonders about the possibility of talking these people down, but soon realizes that it’s not any people at all, but rather automatic turrets. That makes this situation both easier and more complicated. Obviously, the shots will be better directed but for those who know how to, it’s also easier to exploit. She likes to think that she’s one of those people capable of doing this. 

With the two of them being quite experienced in combat, the whole fight lasts a lot shorter than Bery expected and just a few minutes later, the final turret explodes from a thermal detonator thrown by Akaavi.  
As the situation settles down, they’re surrounded by the shadows once more, forcing them to get their own flashlights out. The Captain uses the one connected to her datapad as she glances around the room.  
“Huh. This is the place you were looking for? I mostly see scraps and junk in here.”

Akaavi is already focused elsewhere and begins to cross the room in a steady pace.  
“If you do find something of interest, take it. I have to check the terminals.”

The twi’lek grimaces at the thought of having to search through all of these rusted remains. Well, obviously there must be something of value in here. While the defenses were rather meager, you don’t hire people and pay the price for automatic fortifications without cause. Still, she has no immediate need for spare parts right now, so instead she chooses to wait until her partner is done with whatever business she’s got in this place.  
Bery actually finds herself being somewhat surprised. She was certain that Akaavi would never target a location like this unless it offered her some type of challenging opposition. With the two of them managing to take down all of it and only having a few small bruises to show for it, a sense of unease settles into her mind. What is it that the mandalorian is after?

Several minutes of silence drifts by until Akaavi finally emerges from her search, holding a datapad in her hand.  
“I’ve got what I need. Found anything?”

Bery arches an eyebrow and spreads an arm to gesture across the room.  
“What, from all this junk? Sorry, I’m not much of a scavenger.”

“That’s not what I’ve heard.”

“Hey! I may be a thief at times, but that’s not the same thing. It just means I target items of value. This is worth fuck all in comparison.”

Akaavi doesn’t look bothered by the Captain’s bluntness and shrugs.  
“Suit yourself.”

She tilts her head in interest as the zabrak comes closer.  
“What’d you find, though?”

“Information.”

“About what?”

Green eyes moves to scrutinize her, but Bery’s resolve remains.  
“Something I’ve been looking for.”

She doesn’t really feel like playing this game and shakes her head in frustration.  
“Look, I realize this may be a personal matter or whatever, but I came all the way here with you and risked my life. I deserve to get a little bit of the truth at least, right?”

While she hesitates at first, she sees the logic in Bery’s words.  
“I suppose you’re right. Fine.”  
She raises the datapad somewhat.  
“I’ve transferred files into a datadisk stored in this device. It now contains information regarding Clan Lok’s former allegiance to Mandalore the Preserver.” 

Bery recognizes at least one of those names, being pretty sure that it’s the name of the clan that Jovana joined not too long ago. The other is not familiar to her, however.  
“Mandalore who?”

“The Preserver. He was our leader several generations ago. He led us to war against a dangerous Sith threat that emerged after what the Republic calls the ‘Mandalorian Wars’. Him and the clans with him, stood side by side with the Republic against these Sith. He restored much of what we had lost during our own war and without him, our culture may have not regained our strength at the same pace, or possibly at all.”

Bery arches a brow and then sighs. Was that it?  
“Wait, you brought me all the way here, made me show my tits to some creepy guards and almost got my head blown off, just so you could add this to your collection?”

The words seem to annoy Akaavi somewhat and she scowls.  
“This is not for some collection. I aim to use these to confront Mandalore.”

She widens her eyes in surprise. This wasn’t quite what Bery expected out of this trip.  
“Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?”  
Akaavi then pockets the datapad in among her gear and begins moving.  
“Hey, wait! Akaavi!”

“I must speak with Mandalore about the decision he has made regarding our people’s allegiance to the Empire. It is wrong. These files will give me the legitimacy of my claims and an audience with him.”

Bery will admit that she still knows very little of the warrior people, but she does know that title and how important it apparently is to them. Akaavi has drilled that much into her Captain.  
“But…wait, can’t we just talk to Jovana or something? She’s in his clan, right? He’ll listen to her if she gives the advice.”

Akaavi continues to stride towards the exit, with Bery following her.  
“That is a meager gesture. It has no strength behind it, nor is it as honorable. It shows that I need others to back up my claims.”

“So? Isn’t that the whole point of your people? To work together, or whatever.”

This makes the zabrak stop momentarily, as well as frown in Bery’s direction.  
“We are of different clans, Captain. It does not work that way. You would not understand.” 

She rolls her eyes. Always with the assumption that Bery is clueless in this regard.  
“And what, you believe that he’ll just listen to you because you have a couple of files from hundreds of years ago?”

Akaavi frowns even deeper, but then glances down momentarily before swirling back around and continues her walk.  
“Perhaps not, but that is not what is important. Whether it manages to convince him or not, I believe it will at least make an impact. Someone else might listen and most of all, I will have made the effort.”

The Captain sighs briefly. She’s going to throw her life away for ‘having tried’? Bery would never be satisfied with that.  
“Akaavi, don’t you realize what might happen? What if he decides that this gesture is an insult and he demands your death? You can’t just walk straight into your own demise like this!”

They’re outside again, wandering out through the starry night. It’s only a few kilometers away that they’ve got a shuttle waiting for them to fly them out of here. They did mention that it would be a quick visit.  
“I can and I will. I am mandalorian, Captain, and I must do what is important and beneficial for my people. We are strong enough to stand alone and should not be relegated to being imperial lapdogs. That is what Mandalore the Lesser tried to make us, but we are more than that.”

For a moment, she wonders how long Akaavi has been thinking of this. Has this been with her all along? Was she always preparing to go this route or has Bery and her actions convinced the zabrak somehow? And what is she actually planning to do anyway? Does she aim to challenge Mandalore? Bery can see no positives coming out of such a confrontation.  
“You shouldn’t just charge into this alone, Akaavi. Not like this. You’re part of my crew, and my family. Don’t you think they deserve to hear this as well? Don’t you think it’s a good idea to maybe speak to them first before you head off into some crazy suicide mission to tell the top mandalorian he’s wrong about everything?”

It appears her words have some kind of impact at least, as Akaavi’s features soften somewhat.  
“It is not the same.”

“Isn’t it? How is this different?”

“The clans are my people. I grew up among them and I have a deeper connection with them than I do with those I work with.”

“But we’re not just working together, Akaavi. We do everything together, both during work and spare time. Hell, we even live together. Doesn’t that mean something?”

Akaavi exhales heavily and shakes her head, although it is uncertain if it’s out of irritation or fatigue.  
“It does, but you would not compare it to what it means to be mandalorian if you truly understood us.”

Well, whether she gets frustrated or not, Bery certainly feels it coming onto her at least. She suddenly grabs Akaavi’s arm, making her stop and gaze at the twi’lek.  
“Listen to me! I _do_ understand how important your people are to you. I remember what you’ve said better than you think. And don’t you always say that being Mandalorian is not about bloodlines, origin or species? That it’s a deeper connection than that?”

The warrior locks their eyes together and she studies the brown ones ahead of her.  
“Yes, but that also includes a set of beliefs. Our crew does not share anything similar.”

“Don’t we? Wouldn’t you say that we share the same beliefs in freedom, adventure and the urge to make a good profit? Even if that’s not exactly a set of ancient traditions given down through generations, don’t you agree that we fight fiercely for our right to continue living our lives that way? And that we do everything for each other?”

Bery’s somewhat passionate words manages to pierce through Akaavi’s veil of determination and she momentarily finds herself speechless. She can still deny what’s being said but, would that be truthful? Can’t she also be deemed a hypocrite in that case?  
“I…I hadn’t considered such an aspect of our relations. You may have a point.”

The Captain relaxes as well then and shows Akaavi a small smile.  
“Thanks.”

“I suppose I could contemplate some kind of…alternative when trying to speak with Mandalore.”

“Glad to hear it. How about talking to Jovana after all then?”  
She raises a cautious hand.  
“And I don’t mean that we allow her to get you in to see Mandalore but we could at least hear her out, right? Maybe she can help us figure something out?”

Akaavi stands silent for a few seconds, her eyes moving around searchingly. Eventually, she offers a short and barely noticeable nod.  
“Yes, you’re right. We can do that.”

Bery takes her hand again, but this time to shake.  
“Then we’re in agreement! Let’s get back to the shuttle, shall we?”

Together, they wander through the night to the location where their ride off this planet awaits. During the trip, they don’t really say anything to each other as they both have a lot on their minds. When the vehicle is finally in sight however, Akaavi speaks again but her tone is lower than previously.  
“So, we are family.”

It’s uncertain whether that’s framed as a question or a statement. Bery never really knows with Akaavi.  
“Oh, you mean what I said earlier? Well, yeah.”

“You didn’t mean what you said?”

“Of course I did! I just think we’re a little bit eh, unusual. Then again, so is my biological one. I don’t think that makes us any less of a family. Honestly, we’re probably better off that way.”

She faces Akaavi but the other woman’s expression is difficult to read as always.  
“Does that make me your older sister?”

Bery widens her eyes and her mouth merely hangs open at first. Not quite what she thought would leave the zabrak’s mouth any time soon, or at all, really. Soon enough, she erupts into a short and sweet laughter.  
“You’re not a lot older than me but, I guess so? I manage to tackle one big sister, so I think I can probably handle two.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I've wanted to write something with Akaavi for quite a while. I mean, she was in a few of the chapters back in that Smuggler story I wrote but, I still love that character a lot. I've always imagined that there's been a certain one-sided attraction from Bery towards Akaavi, even if not as strong as for Lenorr. It kinda made that old feud somewhat awkward._   
>  _Nowadays, she treats Akaavi as more of a sister and she cares deeply for her. I think Risha, Jovana and Akaavi are probably her best friends at this point._
> 
> _Next time, we'll get to visit Wrath. Vette wants to have a conversation with her._


	19. The concept of home (SW)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Kinda missed doing those Vette chapters I wrote in the start of my Swtor fics so, here comes one right now._

With a fairly eager smile on her lips, Vette walks through the halls of the Tempest in a brisk pace, trying to reach Zal’riva’s cabin as quickly as possible. She has some rather positive news for a change, which she believes that her friend will wish to hear. It’s a subject she has wanted to talk about with Zal for quite a while now, but never found the right opportunity. This seems like the perfect one.  
Just as she’s about to simply walk through the door, like she always does, she can hear the other twi’lek’s voice speaking with someone else.  
“So, there’s no chance whatsoever?”

It is easy for her to recognize the other person as well. She has met and spoken with Ktila at several occasions in the past and has to admit that she is rather fond of Zal’s girlfriend.  
“I’m sorry, Zal, it’s just not possible. Grand Master Shan has assigned me to a very important mission. I wish I could delay it but…it’s urgent.”

Vette manages to enter silently and stops by the doorframe. She leans back against it and folds her arms. She feels a bit sad when seeing Zal’s shoulders slumping at what Ktila says and there is clearly disappointment in her voice.  
“I…understand. Perhaps we can schedule something at a later date?”

By tilting her head a bit, Vette can see Ktila’s hologram hidden behind Zal and the chiss nods in agreement.  
“Yeah, I think so. I hope so, at least. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Wherever you’re going, try to be careful, alright?”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Promise me.”

Ktila smiles faintly and shakes her head somewhat.  
“Alright, fine. I promise I’ll be as careful as I possibly can.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Widening her smile somewhat, Ktila raises two fingers to her own lips, planting a soft kiss upon them and then turns them around in Zal’s direction. The twi’lek lifts her hand and moves it as if to capture the gesture. She closes her fist around it and then moves it up to her lips, as if returning the kiss. A few seconds of silence linger as they gaze longingly at each other, then the holocall finally ends.  
As she hears how Zal sighs, she knows she has to intervene.  
“Well, guess you’ve got some spare time then, huh?”

Immediately at the first word, Zal twitch in surprise and turns around swiftly. She exhales heavily and rubs her brow.  
“Vette! Stars, don’t do that.”

Vette smirks as she steps away from the door, letting it close behind her.  
“Hah! Did I actually manage to surprise you? Thought that was an impossibility. You really must’ve been distracted, huh?”

Zal merely rolls her eyes as she moves towards her terminal instead.  
“What do you want?”

“I’ve got some good news, actually! Think you’ll wanna hear and consider this.”

She moves to sit down on her chair, spins it around to face Vette and folds her arms.  
“I suppose I could use some. Go on.”

Vette approaches Zal’s bed, planting herself on the edge of it. Most wouldn’t invite themselves so freely into another person’s cabin. Not even Jaesa would presume to sit anywhere without her master’s approval. It’s different with Vette, as Zal is used to her going and sitting wherever she pleases.  
“I’ve talked to some of my pals on Ryloth. It’s been kinda locked down for a while from most visitors, especially imperial ships, but I’ve been able to find a way for us to enter now. We should go there!”

Zal tilts her head curiously and crosses her legs.  
“I see. Why do you want to go there?”

“Erm, hello? It’s my homeworld!”

“Yes, I remember and, well, you’re free to go if that’s what you want.”

Vette sighs and rolls her eyes, feeling Zal is a bit dense at times.  
“I want you to go with me, obviously! It’s not just mine, but our people’s homeworld too. You should want to join me anyway.”

Zal watches her quietly for a few moments, still looking confused.  
“What do you mean ‘our people’?”

She is taken somewhat aback by that. Did she hurt her head real bad recently?  
“Uh, Zal? Are you okay? I’m talking about twi’leks. Ever heard of ‘em?”

Despite the humorous remark, Zal doesn’t look all too pleased.  
“Yes, I understand the purpose of your insinuation, but I don’t think I agree. We may be the same species but we’re not all the same people, Vette.”

Vette furrows her brow, watching Zal with a scrutinizing gaze.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, to me, the twi’leks along with every non-human, human and pureblood of the Empire are my people as well. I’m an Imperial first and foremost.”

The frown Vette displays grows deeper.  
“Wait, how can you say that? They enslaved you, Zal, or you were possibly born into it, which tells me that your family may have been slaves for a long time.”

Zal scowls then but tries to remain calm.  
“Are there not slaves on Ryloth as well? In fact, weren’t you born into it too?”

She doesn’t have any great responses to that question. It is true that she was and she knows it is still an ongoing problem on her world.  
“So, what, you don’t care what happens to twi’leks anywhere else then? Is that it?”

Zal alters her position to sit straighter in her chair.  
“No, obviously I do. I oppose slavery in any part of the galaxy. I mean, if I didn’t care at all, would I have helped you with contacts and resources for these past few months?”  
She does speak truth, as Vette has begun to seriously try to prevent and combat slavery in different parts of the galaxy, despite the difficulties in doing so on her own. Zal can’t be seen doing so publicly because of her position, but it has given her a lot of resources which she has transferred to Vette. Jaesa has been heavily involved as well, of course.  
“However, it is still not quite the same for me. My people are the imperial slaves of any kind; it is the ones I lived and served with, and while I wish to abolish slavery everywhere, the Empire is my foremost goal right now. I want to purge my home of these oppressive tendencies.”

It does make sense, but Vette looks somewhat disappointed regardless.  
“So, you don’t want to go to Ryloth.”

Zal widens her eyes momentarily and then sighs briefly. Perhaps she didn’t express herself properly, after all.  
“That’s not what I sa-“

“No, no, I get it!”  
Vette quickly rises from her seat.  
“You don’t want to. That’s fine. Let’s just forget it then.”  
Perhaps it is unfair to dismiss Zal so sharply, but she felt the tone of the conversation had turned so dismissive, as if the Sith had forgotten who they were. Twi’leks suffer everywhere across the galaxy. Shouldn’t they show solidarity with each other, no matter what faction they were born into?

She turns away from Zal and begins to stride out from the room, forcing the taller twi’lek to move after her.  
“Vette, wait! Vette!”  
She manages to reach the door before Zal’s hand grabs ahold of her arm. Not pulling her back but, simply holding her in that location.  
“Please, don’t go.”

Vette is still frowning but she glances slightly over her shoulder.  
“What?”

At least Zal’s expression appears remorseful.  
“Let me finish talking first, alright?”

While she wants to give in to her anger, Vette relents and turns back around. The automatic door shuts behind her again.  
“Fine.”

Letting go of her arm, Zal takes a step back.  
“First of all, I’m sorry for being so dismissive. I didn’t mean to be.  
I didn’t want to reject your offer of going to Ryloth, at all. In fact, I’d love to join you there, but you framed your request as if it would be allowing me to go back home, when it isn’t. Wherever I’m originally from, I’m pretty sure it’s not that world.”

Vette begins to calm down, seeing her view and that it may have been reasonable after all.  
“I…I guess you’re right. I just wanted to give you the chance to see the…well, I suppose the original homeworld of twi’leks or at the very least, the most populous area for our people or species or whatever. And you know, maybe we could…find some way to do something for them. You’re a big, scary Sith, after all.”

Zal smiles gently and she nods as well.  
“I’d like to do that and I believe it would be a fun experience. But honestly, I’d want to go for your sake, not for any other reason. I care about you and that’s why it’s important to me.  
Will you accept my apology?”

Vette glances up and meets Zal’s eyes. She recognizes the compassion and care in them. After a few moments, she grabs the taller twi’lek’s arm and pulls her into a hug, wrapping her own arms around the Sith’s waist.  
“Of course I do. You’re a big, dumb brute, Zal, but you’re one of my best friends. Like a big sister or something. When I go home, I want you to be there.”

Zal chuckles softly but returns the embrace, gently stroking a hand at Vette’s back.  
“You know, that makes our first few weeks together feel somewhat awkward.”

“Tsk, shut up. That was our experimental phase.”

Another laughter before she leans down to kiss the top of Vette’s head.  
“I suppose we’ll need to change course then and head for Ryloth. I’m sure Jaesa will be quite excited.”

“Yup, she will. I’ve shown her pictures and vids of it and she has already told me that she’d want to visit.”  
Her brow furrows in a small bit of uncertainty.  
“Just wish that Kira could’ve been there too.”

Zal caresses one of Vette’s lekkus, doing it in a tender and rather enjoyable way.  
“We’re all still young, Vette. There will be an opportunity for you to convince her to join us at some point.”

The worries in the back of her mind tries to continue looking at the negative aspects of their situation, that there’s still a war out there which Kira is involved in, but Zal’s words does bring some comfort.  
“I hope you’re right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _There'll be some more Reezah/Elara next chapter._
> 
> _Also, as I'm trying to mention it everywhere this week: I understand that there are some who read my stories that don't have an ao3 account and therefore can't subscribe. If you still want to know when I release new chapters, and use tumblr, I've got a[writing blog](http://talonfics.tumblr.com/) specifically set up to update that kind of thing._


	20. Dare to dream (Tr)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _When it comes to Reezah, I tend to enjoy writing her with Elara the most so, let's get into that. This is uh...fluff, I guess? I think that's the word._

Reezah has heard many stories of the last war between the Republic and the Empire. While she did experience it first hand and lost a lot of things during it, she never truly knew how it’d be as a soldier. She was only a kid the last time around and during her recruitment into the army a few years later, she had to listen to the tales from older warriors of what it was like. Gruesome to be sure, but it also gave her a sense of hope and a pride to be one of the Republic’s defenders.   
Seems that those old grunts either didn’t know or left out the fact that war as an officer also means quite a bit of paper work. 

She doesn’t mind sitting down and talk tactics or even just relaxing for an extended amount of time but, reading and filing report after report on her datapad isn’t the most stimulating type of work that she could ever imagine. It’s during times like these that she sort of regrets having accepted the position as Major and CO of Havoc squad.  
While she sits in her bed in nothing more than a blue tank top and black shorts, her eyelids suddenly begin to sink down over her eyes. She manages to push them back several times but it’s not until her head almost droops down fully that she realizes that she’s currently way too tired to be doing this. Time to refresh herself somehow.

Reezah stands up, stretching her legs and arms shortly before she glances around the room. By the terminal at one side of the wall sits another figure which immediately makes her smile. It appears Elara is still working hard on something, although she can’t quite see the screen so it’s difficult to determine what it is. Just like the Major, she’s dressed more casually while they’re on their downtime – nothing more than a simple red shirt and some loose white pants. They installed a carpet in this cabin specifically on Elara’s request, so she would be able to walk around without socks and shoes. The metal floor was too cold on mornings for her taste. 

For now, she stops thinking about it and instead directs her attention towards some of her girlfriend’s gear, hoping there’s something she can use to wake herself up.   
This is when Elara notices that something is amiss. She hears noises further behind and how someone is likely rummaging around among her belongings.   
“What are you doing?”

She doesn’t even need to turn around and Reezah doesn’t look up from what she’s doing either.  
“I’m getting pretty tired. You have something to wake me up?”

Elara smiles and shakes her head briefly, well aware of the Major’s feelings for sitting around and doing this kind of task. It’s why Elara is usually the one who handles administrative assignments, after all.  
“As your medical expert, I advise rest, dear. Just lie down for a while.”

This doesn’t stop her and she continues in trying to find some kind of instrument that can help. Unfortunately, she has no idea what most of these things do. She can point out a kolto pack easily enough but when it comes to the rest of the contents, she has little to no clue.  
“No can do. The Chancellor asked me to send in a report to one of her Commanders regarding recommendations for our assault on Utaros Beta. Can’t sleep until I fix that.”

“I don’t think the Chancellor will punish you for simply taking a nap. Actually, I’m fairly sure she would prefer that you were rested and your mind fully alert as you write your report.”

Finally, she simply grabs one of the tools with a vial attached to it and checks it out. There’s several different vials with a variety of colors, so she really has no idea what this one does.  
“This is a stim, right? Can I use this one?”

Elara widens her eyes, finally turning around and stands up.  
“What are you doing? If you’re so desperate to stay awake, grab a cup of coffee or something.”

“Nah c’mon, help me use this thing so I can get energized.”  
She moves it around in her hand, pointing the needle down at her arm.  
“I just push this part into my arm, right?”

Rolling her eyes, she sighs heavily as she finally reaches the togruta. She grabs the stim from her hands quite gently and puts it back in the medical kit.  
“Darling, you can’t take a stimulant just because you’re tired.”

“Why not? I take them all the time, right? It’s fine.”

Elara grabs the handle of the kit and then moves it away, out of reach for Reezah.  
“Yes, during _combat._ Right now, you’re just a bit drowsy because you’ve been sitting still all day.”

Reezah sighs in irritation and her lekkus twitches somewhat in a similar reaction.   
“Elara, you’re not helping. I really need to do this and I can’t if you’re going to be picky.”

“I don’t think preventing you from putting highly expensive and functional biological battle enhancements into your body while you’re filing reports is what I would call being ‘picky’. Perhaps we have different definitions of that word.”

“It’s just one time! I won’t do it ever again, just this once.”

Elara simply giggles and shakes her head, before grabbing the hem of Reezah’s top.  
“You’re a stupid girl, do you know that?”  
She tugs at the top while wrapping the other arm around the Major’s neck, pulling her down into a kiss. Reezah shuts her eyes and enjoys the taste. Despite being somewhat annoyed, she strokes a hand down around Elara’s waist.

When they get a second of respite to breathe, Reezah pouts and speaks softly.  
“I’m not stupid, you’re stupid.”

“See, by saying that just now, you’re pretty much proving my point.”

As she can’t help herself, Reezah begins to laugh and moves both arms around her beloved, pulling her into a tight embrace. She lets Elara rest her head against the Major’s shoulder and manages to feel somewhat invigorated by this kind of intimacy. Probably her body getting excited in the way that it often does when being close to her XO.  
In this position however, it is now possible for her to see the screen of her terminal. While Elara is distracted by the hug, Reezah tilts her head to see it better.  
“Hey, what’s that you’re browsing?” 

“Hmm?”  
Opening her eyes, Elara notices how the Major’s gaze is upon the terminal and she clears her throat and takes a step back to stand in the way.  
“Oh, nothing special.”

Well, clearly it is, if it gets her to prevent Reezah from seeing it. She closes the distance between them again and as she’s taller than Elara, she tries to glance past her.  
“C’mon, what is that?”

Elara attempts to place a hand above Reezah’s eyes.  
“Nothing you need to be concerned with.”  
It makes her laugh and as she is unfortunately physically stronger, she simply grabs Elara’s wrists and pries them away in a gentle manner.  
“Wait! Stop looking!”

Reezah smirks and while she holds Elara, she pushes them closer to the terminal.  
“Hold on a moment, is that...are you looking at houses?”

A flash of red can be seen across the medic’s cheeks which she does a pretty poor job of hiding.  
“…maybe.” 

Well, not like Reezah is opposed to such measures, but there are other issues to consider. She smiles and tilts her head as they approach the terminal further, now that Elara isn’t struggling against her.  
“You don’t think it’s a bit too early for that kind of search?”

While she calms down, Elara also shrugs briefly, not seeming as fussed with the implication.  
“No, why would it be? One of the first pieces of advice that real estate agents give you is to start searching for the right property fairly early on so that we can get the location we want.” 

Scanning the screen, it appears that she hasn’t been hunting on just one planet either. A multitude of different worlds, even those outside of the core planets, are stated in her search results.  
A small smirk soon adorns the togruta’s lips.  
“And what, our apartment on Coruscant isn’t good enough?” 

Elara ponders the question, tilting her head and back forth in consideration.   
“Well, it’s not a bad area per se. It is the capital and it does offer all sorts of good education, medical care, entertainment as well as a diverse population. However, I’m not certain if it’s the most appropriate area to raise our children. Perhaps we need to find a planet with more woodlands or one with several different biomes so that they get the opportunity to discover that the galaxy is more than just an enormous city.”

Reezah blinks, focusing on a specific set of words mentioned in the middle of everything.  
“Oh, uh, so we’re having kids now too, are we?”

Elara looks up at her with the kind of face that makes it seem as if it was always obvious.  
“Of course we are. At least two.”

The kind of conviction she speaks with makes Reezah laugh slightly.  
“You know, I’m not sure if your certainty in this is supposed to excite or scare me.”

The human expresses a small smile of her own as she leans closer to Reezah, stroking a few fingers slowly across her back.  
“I suppose that depends what you feel about that prospect. I would hope you see it in as positive light as I do.”

It’s not that she had never considered having children at some point, but with the current state of the galaxy and her present occupation, it was quite far away from her mind.   
“Well, I’m not against it, just…not what I thought you’d want to talk about right at this time.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Oh, you know, the fact that we’re at war and we are among those who have to fight it. We don’t know for sure whether we’ll survive this kind of hell either.” 

Elara’s smile softens as she leans in closer. She places one of her hands upon the closest lekku reaching down by Reezah’s left side, caressing it in such a fashion which she knows by now is pleasing to her lover.   
“Well, wouldn’t you agree that in those kinds of circumstances and uncertainties, it’s a good distraction to remain hopeful and think of the future instead?”

A similar expression spreads over Reezah’s features and she nods curtly in agreement.   
“Yeah, I guess you might have a point. The Meteor isn’t enough for those kinds of purposes, though?”

Elara rolls her eyes at the joke and pokes the Major’s chest.  
“Certainly not. Especially not with Vik on board.”

“What’s wrong with Vik?”

“I don’t want that man and his dubious morals anywhere near our children.”

She erupts in a fit of laughter when thinking of the possibility of Vik being an uncle to her kids.   
“You know, I don’t think he’d want that either. I get the sense he’s not much of a kids person.”

“Good, I’d prefer it stays that way.”  
Her hand curiously strokes further up Reezah’s montrals.  
“What about you then? Would you say that you are the same?”

She watches Elara’s eyes, searching for the intent within them. For now, she mostly appears to be pretty casual in her approach but, Reezah is sure that she can sense a bit of worry within them. It’s not that strange to fear for one’s partner not having the same kind of prospects for the future. Luckily, this is not the case.   
“Of course not. I’d love to have kids at some point, when I know that they’ll be safe and we can both be there to raise them.”  
Her lips curls up brightly and when Reezah leans down, they both join into another kiss, this one deeper and more eager than the last. If she didn’t have an important assignment right now, she’d pull the medic down with her into the bed. For now, she’ll settle for a short break.  
“So, you wanna show me what kind of places you’ve been looking at so far?”

Elara arches a brow in surprise.  
“Didn’t you have to get that report to the Commander?”

“Bah, I can fix it later. Like you said, I don’t think the Chancellor will mind if I take a short break.”

This appears to please her and she pulls Reezah with her into the chair by the terminal, sitting down in the togruta’s lap as they spend some time together lingering on thoughts for a future past the war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The next chapter will start a small arc of about four chapters, starring Ktila and Iron. Obviously, a few of their companions will be involved too._


	21. Going in circles (JC + JK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _So yeah, time for a small arc with Ktila and Iron'zeranz. This means more than just one chapter starring them._   
>  _If you remember what Ktila said to Zal a few chapters ago, this is about the important mission she was talking about._

Ktila sighs quietly and squirms somewhat uncomfortable. As she walks, she tries to correct her robes to keep herself busy somehow. Not that it helps much, as she can’t shake the annoyed sensation which she gets from the person ahead of her. Why did they have to call _her_ back as well? Or rather, couldn’t the Grand master have told her beforehand? She hates it when she’s met with an unfortunate turn of events. 

In the past few weeks, Ktila has been visiting Tython on more occasions than she did during the several months prior. It’s not that she minds being here, quite the opposite. The temple brings a bit of serenity to her, which she can’t find anywhere-  
…actually, that’s not true. After meeting Zal’riva, she has learned that being embraced by the twi’lek may be her most serene and comforting moments. So, the Jedi Temple will have to take the runner-up position. Still, when she was called here this day for some kind of urgent assignment, she hadn’t expected to be met with a certain unwelcome individual.

Master Iron’zeranz. Actually, she’s not just a Jedi Master anymore, but also a member of the Jedi Council. It fills Ktila with a great sense of unease to think that the miraluka, who was almost zealous in her hunt for the Emperor’s ‘children’ to such an extent that she wanted to take Kira in, now serves as one of the highest ranked Jedi. What does that mean for the future? Will she have to take orders from Iron from now on? Thankfully, they hadn’t spoken during the few months since their last meeting and as they now walk in the corridor towards the Council chambers, it appears that the miraluka does not have any interest to start up a conversation either. This works just fine with Ktila. She has even decided to stay a few steps behind Iron, instead of walking side by side. Is that petty? She doesn’t really care.

When they finally enter the circular room with the table and chairs belonging to the Jedi Council, they see only one figure sitting inside. Grand master Satele Shan rises her from her seat and offers a small smile. Her tone is calm and even, as always.  
“Master Iron, master Ktila, it is good to see you both again.”

The two younger Jedi both stop by the edge of the table and bow briefly. Ktila lets Iron speak first.  
“And you as well, Grand master.”

She gestures at the empty chairs at her side.  
“Please, have a seat.”

Ktila looks around before she does.  
“Is there no one else here?”

“No, the others have assignments in the war or elsewhere for the Republic. And besides, it is probably best if we handle this issue just between the three of us anyhow.”

The chiss arches a brow in confusion, but then shrugs before she sits down.  
“As you wish.”  
Again, she acts somewhat on her feelings of aversion for Iron, meaning that she takes a seat with at least one chair in between her and Iron. She wonders how Zal would feel about this, or if Satele will say anything. For now, she does not. 

Satele glances between them momentarily before she starts talking.  
“I am glad that you have both returned here, although I wish it were under better circumstances.  
Master Ktila, do you recall the prototype superweapons that you worked to deactivate and dismantle?”

She tilts her head with interest as images of the past flashes through her mind. It’s been no more than a year or two, but it’s certainly still fresh.  
“Doctor Godera’s work? How could I forget? One of the sloppiest operations I’ve ever seen the Republic handling. I still can’t believe how they could’ve let the Sith infiltrate them so far as to almost destroy the Republic with its own tools.”

“Aye, it is still a matter that we try to discuss with both the military and the SIS.”  
Satele glances at Iron.  
“Master Iron, you have heard of them as well, yes?”

She nods curtly.  
“I have read the reports. Fascinating designs, but I agree with master Ktila regarding the poor management of their security.”

Well, not something she expected to hear but, probably better than an insult. Ktila does wonder how much she might’ve seen though. Did the Council discuss this matter among themselves or did she acquire the info elsewhere?  
Satele does not seem concerned with that subject.  
“Of course, and while it is an issue, that is not why I called you two here today. The matter at hand regards their design documents.”

Ktila scowls for a moment, remembering Godera’s words that he had made the designs but never actually finalized them. That was done later, although perhaps it was best if they had simply stayed as files.  
“They were not destroyed?”

“No, they were not. The military’s high command and the SIS felt it was necessary to preserve the information, just in case things would get desperate once more. The files for the blueprints were placed in a secure location.”

Sighing and folding her arms, Ktila leans back in her seat.  
“Of course they were”, she says with some bitterness in her voice. Feels like all the hardships she went through to stop the last disaster may have been for naught.

“Unfortunately, the SIS sent us a report that the databank station which they were located in, recently reported a malfunction.”

She groans and place a hand upon her forehead, closing her eyes.  
“Of course they did.”

Iron glances between them both, probably sensing there is more to this matter than what the reports mentioned, but does not inquire.  
Satele tries to remain calm as she puts her hands together on the table.  
“Don’t be too quick to judge, Ktila. They did all they could to put as much security around these items as possible.”

“No, they did not, master Shan. If they had, the files would’ve been destroyed by now, which they are not. By the sound of it, we may now also be faced with the problem of having the blueprints stolen… _again.”_

Satele shakes her head.  
“Don’t be too alarmed just yet, because the SIS told us this is not the case. Well, not quite anyhow.  
Once they got their systems up and running again, they scanned the databank for any errors and they could see that the files for the blueprints were still present and intact. However, they believe that the files may have been copied.”

“What? How do they know?”

“Whomever it was had not been all too careful in their intrusion, because they left traces in the file logs. There’s a mentioning of being accessed during the databank malfunction. Such data could of course be false or simply an error as well, but that is not what the SIS believes.”

The chiss leans back in her seat once more, her brow furrowing in thought. Could it be the Sith again using more subtle means? Or maybe it’s just someone out for credits, like the scam on Coruscant? Either way, it would be dangerous.  
“And do they have a lead? Or is this just speculation?”

“They do indeed, and they have placed two of their agents on an assignment to locate the perpetrators and capture them – or, at the very least, see to it that the copies are destroyed.”

Ktila mutters.  
“Maybe they could see to it that the originals are burned this time as well…”  
She then sighs and speaks up.  
“What does this have to do with us then? Do they require assistance?”

“I am not entirely sure if they do, but they have asked for it. As you worked so well with them last time, they sought out the Jedi once more. It is likely that they are uncertain whether the Sith are involved again and want to take precautions.” 

She keeps lingering on the fact that the SIS should’ve taken precautions ages ago, to prevent this from happening in the first place but, she realizes that complaining in that fashion won’t do any good either.  
“I see. And you wish to send…” her eyes drift over to Iron momentarily, and then back to Satele, “…both of us?”

Satele nods, sensing the tension in the room, even though it mostly originates from one side.  
“Yes, I do. You two are among our youngest and most capable masters and you’ve proven yourselves many times over. If something needs investigating, I believe you are capable of achieving this goal. On top of this, you both have very capable padawans and subordinates. I have no doubt that you can succeed where others might not.”

While she may not be wrong per se, that doesn’t mean they’ll necessary cooperate well, something that Ktila has been dreading. She gathers herself before she decides to speak up.  
“Well, I…understand your reasoning and your argument for this, Grand master, but do you not think that one of us should, perhaps, be replaced?” 

It was inevitable that she’d mention this. She can’t really avoid the problems that a cooperation between these two would bring, no matter how much the council may like it.  
Satele faces her with a troubled expression.  
“Why would you say that?”

“Well, uh, I thought it would be kinda obvious but, as I know you’re aware, me and master Iron have not had a very good prior work relationship.”  
An uncomfortable silence settles in the room after she speaks, but she has no regrets. She’s not going to be forced into this without letting them know first. Iron has turned her head in Ktila’s direction, but keeps quiet. Is she upset? Offended? Ktila can’t tell, as she can’t read anything from her. This miraluka is so elusive and…strange. 

Satele appears even more unsure than previously, and she moves a hand over her chin before she turns to the other Jedi as well.  
“And you, master Iron? What is your assessment? Do you also think that I should replace one of you for this assignment?”

For several more seconds, Iron merely stares at Ktila, or at least that’s what the chiss believes as Iron is turned towards her. She relents eventually, facing the Grand master.  
“If I should be honest, no, I do not think that should be necessary. This is a crucial mission and I am ready to proceed but, I do not care who it is that I have to work with, as long as they are capable. Master Ktila is, and I am prepared to cooperate with her. If she is not, then I will help you find another.”

Satele appears satisfied with the response, her eyes shifting to the chiss again.  
“Ktila, I have a lot of respect for you and for your capabilities. Your mental and physical strengths are impressive and among some of the strongest we’ve seen in the Order, even before the last war. On top of this, you know what this mission entails, as you handled it yourself last time. These are the reasons for why I want you to be involved in this mission, but I will not force you into it. If you still would rather be assigned elsewhere, I will accept your wishes and make it happen.”

Well, they’ve certainly put her on the spot now, haven’t they? She expected some kind of pleading from Satele, as Ktila may know this whole operation best, but to think that there’s no animosity from Iron either? She was almost certain that Iron would feel similarly to her and scold her further for being so defiant during their last meeting. Had she read the miraluka incorrectly from the very beginning?  
For now, she sighs in defeat. There’s nothing else to do.  
“No, no, it’s fine. I see the necessity of this mission and I will go. I wouldn’t want a disaster like last time to happen again. I would…feel guilty if I refused to help.”

Another smile from the human and she nods in thanks.  
“Glad to hear it. I will send the necessary information to you at once. The agents are waiting on Coruscant for you both. If you require any assistance in this matter from us, you can reach my frequency whenever you need. I wish you both good luck.”

There’s nothing else to linger on, so they both rise, say a few more parting words with Satele and then exit the chambers. Once they’re outside, they stop and attempt to absorbs the situation.  
Ktila takes a deep breath, trying to calm her mind. So, the Republic has screwed up again and not only is she expected to fix it, but she also has to work with the Jedi she is perhaps the least inclined to speak with. She sincerely hopes that Iron doesn’t try to do anything to Kira this time.  
When she looks at Iron again, she notices that the miraluka is already facing her.  
“So…I guess we’re working together this time.”

Iron nods briefly, shifting her arms to place behind her back.  
“It would seem so, yes.”

“Is your ship here on Tython as well?”

“It is.”

“Well, uhm…I suppose we should get going then, as soon as possible. I’m sure the SIS will be waiting for us.”

“They are, from what master Satele said.”  
Ktila is just going to start walking when Iron continues.  
“If both our ships are here, and if we will work together the whole mission, perhaps it would be wise if we ride in the same ship?”

She was dreading this question. Actually, she was trying to actively avoid it, as it seemed like the most obvious conclusion and she wasn’t sure whether she wanted it to occur. Now it’s unavoidable though. Trying to look unfazed by it however, she merely shrugs.  
“If you prefer.”

“I believe I do. To make you more comfortable, I am willing to take my crew to your ship.”

Well, that’s certainly better than the alternative.  
“Alright, but, we don’t have all that many cabins.”

“That is fine, we do not require much space. I am sure we can share rooms as well, yes?”

Sharing a cabin with Iron for several days? This mission may test her patience more than she could’ve imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _If you've seen Ktila's pictures in the profile on one of my blog, then I'd just like to mention that she doesn't wear those ones all the time. It's just some that I felt looked good on her for the images._   
>  _These two met during my first SWTOR fic, Among the faded tales and yes, Ktila is still bitter about that. It's not completely fair to Iron but, Ktila is stubborn._


	22. Leave it behind (JC + JK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, I realize that Ktila once more doesn't treat Iron as fairly here to begin with. I do like how it shows the contrast in how different my two Jedi are, though._

Usually, Ktila feels a sense of relief whenever she moves up towards the hatching leading into the Shielded Path, the Defender-class light corvette that she and her crew has been using now for over a year, perhaps even close to two. It has become like a second home to them, and a place that Ktila can honestly say brings her a lot of mental tranquility. She’s not even sure if it has outdone the Jedi Temple for her or not.  
Regardless, that is not how the current situation looks as they walk up the ramp and into the ship itself. Master Iron’zeranz currently walks right by her side and despite that they’ve been wandering together since they left the Council chambers, neither of them have said a word. Ktila can’t say for sure whether it’s out of discomfort or that she merely enjoys the silence.

Once they enter, they can already hear some noise further inside from what seems like a conversation. Iron did notify her crew to go here, which makes it likely that they arrived ahead of the two masters. Oh well, it’s not like that matters much to Ktila, as long as they don’t make a mess.  
“Master Ktila, I realize that this may not be to your utmost comfort. Our interactions did not start off very well and I likely did not give you the best first impression.”

And so, it begins. She figured that this conversation would come sooner or later. She’s just slightly surprised that Iron decided to raise it so soon.  
Ktila snorts, crossing her arms and shakes her head briefly.  
“Yeah, you could say that, if you’re being kind. I would say that trying to kill Kira is not exactly just a ‘bad first impression’.”

Iron turns her head in the chiss’ direction, the cloth on her face swaying with the motion.  
“Is that what you believe? Well, you are mistaken in that case. I did not seek to kill your companion, merely secure her in case she proved to be dangerous.”

Ktila is not pleased with that response, just hearing the same crap she got last time. She frowns and moves further in, showing her back to the other Jedi.  
“Sure, whatever.”

Not that this deters Iron, as she follows Ktila.  
“I did not intend for the situation to turn towards violence. I suppose I had not realized how strong your bond must be. Afterwards, I have also done further investigations and received the advice of the Jedi Council. I understand now that I made an error in my judgement of Kira.”

Ktila rolls her eyes in irritation, her pace continuing rather slowly.  
“Oh, you ‘admit your error’. Good for you.”

Her tone drips with sarcasm, although it’s not quite certain if Iron catches it. It’s difficult to say by her expression how she’s feeling, but Ktila can sense some kind of confused emotions from the miraluka.  
“I don’t understand.”

Suddenly, she swirls back around, facing Iron’s direction with a scowl.  
“Well, maybe instead of trying to rationalize your behavior, you could apologize for what you did!”

Iron is taken somewhat aback by the outburst, even if it’s not all too loud. She remains in her position however.  
“If that is what you prefer.”

Ktila leans her head back slightly, groaning in frustration.  
“Not to me, to Kira! She’s the one you hurt and she deserves an apology. You can’t know how hard it was for her to be met with someone from her own order trying to take her down for something she fought very hard to resist.”

There’s silence between them for a few moments as the miraluka contemplates how to respond. Eventually, she puts her hands together in front of her, somewhat awkwardly.  
“If…if she wishes me to, I shall do so. I will try to speak with her when she has the time.”

“Good. We’re Jedi and we need to take responsibility for our actions.”

They continue moving for a bit, keeping a slow pace. Ktila struggles with her emotions for Iron, how annoyed she is in the presence of the miraluka. She wonders if it’s fair, if she should be more open-minded. Iron did try to make an effort, didn’t she?  
Another part of her constantly wants to fight against this, to reprimand the other Jedi or possibly even throw her out of here.  
“Are you still in contact with Zal’riva?”

Just as she was trying to instill herself with calm, it suddenly shatters at the question. She frowns now, turning to stare, almost glare towards Iron.  
“Why are you asking?”

“I am simply curious.”

“It’s none of your business.”

Iron tilts her head, realizing that she may have made another mistake. Ktila gets the feeling that the miraluka is trying to do as much reading of her as she does in return.  
“Master Ktil-“

“Just Ktila is fine. You don’t have to say my title every single time.”

“Very well. Ktila, I am not trying to interrogate you, if that is what you’re worried about. I’m honestly just wondering what sort of connection you have with her.”

Ktila narrows her eyes suspiciously.  
“Our connection? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, I surmised back on Corellia that you two must be close in some fashion for her to intervene with my arrest of Kira. I can’t see any other reason for why the Emperor’s Wrath would. Am I mistaken?”

Instead of responding, Ktila leans closer to her, still keeping the brow furrowed. Her voice lowers somewhat as well.  
“Have you talked to the Council about this?”

Iron doesn’t step away from where she’s already standing, merely shaking her head.  
“No, I have not. I saw no reason for it.”

“You don’t think it’s bad that a renowned Jedi hangs out with a powerful and feared Sith?”  
She doesn’t actually know how much of their relationship Iron is aware of, and she’s not about to give any clues either.

“In fact, I do not, which is why I haven’t told them. I disagree with the Council on their opinions regarding our connection to the Sith. I believe that conversation and diplomacy should be encouraged. Only by learning from each other can we prosper and end our hostilities. I believe this is especially important if the Sith themselves are reasonable, such as Lord Wrath.”

Ktila actually looks surprised then, taking a step back.  
“I…I didn’t know you felt this way.”

“But I do. I believe that if the extremes of each side - both the supposed Light and Dark - were not in charge, we could possibly create an understanding with each other. This is why I have not opposed nor exposed your connection with Lord Wrath. That is, unless I’m mistaken.”

Ktila watches her thoughtfully, gaining new understanding for Iron. It comes sort of out of nowhere, and she’s not quite sure how to react. Has she been wrong all along then?  
“But…you hunted the Emperor’s Children so fiercely. And wanted to capture Kira…”

“Yes, of course, that is because I believe that the Sith Emperor himself is a danger, not just to us but the whole galaxy. That includes the Sith and their Empire. Obviously, I was wrong about Kira but I do not believe I am wrong about the Emperor.”

She raises a hand, scratching her neck as she appears distant for a moment. The miraluka does have a point and it’s something she has been thinking for quite a while too. Perhaps she shouldn’t be so quick to judge.  
“Well, eh, you were right with your initial assumption. Me and…Lord Wrath do talk, quite often, in fact. We were going to meet fairly soon but, this current mission of ours got in the way.”

Iron looks at her curiously, or what Ktila would assume is in an inquisitive way.  
“Oh, I see. Is that the real reason why you did not wish to join on this assignment then?”

Of course it was not, but for now she figures it may be best to hold back the truth.  
“Yes, that’s right. I couldn’t tell anyone for obvious reasons.”

“Ah, then I must apologize for pushing you to stay with us.”

Ktila shows a small smile and waves her hand dismissively.  
“That’s okay, I needed to come anyway. I know the dangers that these weapons pose and I can’t allow them to get into the wrong hands. Well, you know, again.”

“That is a reasonable approach. I hope we will be able to cooperate in order to stop any such people from attaining them.”

“So do I.”  
They’ve finally arrived at the door to Ktila’s cabin and while there’s another room that she could lend to Iron, she doesn’t wish to split them just yet.  
“Say, would you like something to drink? I’ve got some of Zal’s favorite tea in here.”

“Certainly, I would be very interested to see what she enjoys.”  
  


* * *

  
In another part of the Shielded Path, Nadia observes the inside of Kira’s cabin, already making herself at home. She watches several of the holoimages, technological devices, datapad-disks and other things that Kira has in her room. She even has a fairly large wardrobe that is filled with all sorts of clothes. Nadia looks amused by it all.  
“Wow, you’ve really got a lot of stuff in here. I thought the Jedi always said that attachment of any kind is a bad thing.”

Kira smirks and shrugs.  
“Yeah, maybe, but what do they know anyway? I mean, I like the way they fight against injustice and cruelty but, Jedi have always had a crappy sense of fashion and no understanding for how much great stuff you can buy for credits.”

Nadia isn’t really about to disagree, as she tends to invest in the same. She’s well aware that Iron hardly does however, except when it comes to texts, books and scrolls. It seems to be her exception.  
Something in particular catches the padawan’s eye however, as she sees some kind of box with several pieces of a substance she hadn’t anticipated. It looks to be different kinds of stones in a wide variety of colors.  
“What’s this? Rock collection?”

Kira coughs a bit awkwardly.  
“Uh, yeah. I’ve collected one for every planet we’ve been on. Well, almost every at least. Wherever I’m able to get it, basically.”

“Even Nar Shaddaa?”

She sees how Kira grimaces slightly as she scratches her cheek.  
“Yeah, I have, although I got that way earlier. Used to live on that pollution ball, so I had a lot of opportunities.”

“I see.”  
She puts down the box for now, trying to think of some way to get Kira’s mind off any bad memories.  
“So, has Jaesa and Vette spent a lot of time in this room as well?”

Probably not the kind of question that Kira was expecting and she quickly raises her hand as to hide any embarrassment.  
“W-what? Why eh, w-why would you ask that?”

A small smirk finds its way upon Nadia’s lips, as she’s a lot slyer than what Kira is used to.  
“You can’t fool me, Kira. I’ve seen how happy you get whenever you talk about them. You must’ve taken them here at some point.”

Kira coughs, trying to control her voice as much as possible.  
“Well, actually, not much so far. We don’t spend a lot of time in the Shielded Path so, I tend to visit their rooms more instead.”  
At first, she’s satisfied with that approach until she realizes the implication and the blush returns.  
“Uhh, not that I spend all my time in their bedrooms or anything! I mean, we…we do all kinds of normal things! Totally innocent!”

The smugness in Nadia’s gaze grows somewhat and she glances around the room.  
“Really? Huh. So, if I open your wardrobe here, I’m not going to find any pieces of clothing belonging to them?”

Hurrying up to the doors before the padawan, Kira stops her from trying to rummage around.  
“Hey, you can’t just snoop around among my clothes! That’s private!”

“I just want to make sure that there’s no stolen Sith clothes in there.”

“There isn’t! They have terrible fashion too, you know. Wouldn’t want to associate with anything they wear.”

Nadia folds her arms, not seeming convinced.  
“Uh-huh. Not even their underwear?”

Kira clears her throat, still not budging from the doors.  
“Look, do I have to lock these doors to stop you from touching them?”

“You could do that, but I’m not sure it would help much. I’m quite strong in the Force.”

“Uh, well, I’m pretty sure that your master didn’t teach you to control it in order to break into other people’s stuff.”

From the doorway, they suddenly hear a different voice, somewhat deeper and calmer.  
“It’s no use denying your passions, Jedi. We both know they’re always present.”

Their playful mannerism is suddenly broken as Kira frowns. She doesn’t need to see him to know who it is and she looks even more disappointed when she spots him.  
“What are you doing here, Scourge? This is my room.”

Lord Scourge is standing just outside the room, his arms crossed as he gazes at her with one of his brow stalks somewhat raised.  
“I am not in your room, Kira. As you can see, your door stands open and I merely overheard as I passed by.”

It seems he’s in a mood to annoy Kira today, and it certainly works. Nadia appears more curious than irritated however.  
“You’re the one called Lord Scourge? The Sith who decided to work with Jedi?”

“I do not work with Jedi. I cooperate with Ktila, no one else.”

“Huh, that’s interesting.”

Kira sighs and rolls her eyes, moving to step in between the two.  
“Look, don’t listen to him Nadia. He just likes to talk a lot of nonsense, and lies all the time. Don’t bother with him.”  
She turns a glare over towards Scourge.  
“And you can go away. We don’t want you here, Sith.”

Despite that he seems unfazed by her words, he still intends to follow her advice to leave. Nadia steps around Kira before that happens.  
“Wait! Before you leave, I have some questions.”

By his tone, he sounds rather bored.  
“I am not interested in your questions, Jedi. Your companion wants me to disperse and I have no desire to interact with you any further.”

“Please, just a few! It’ll be some really quick ones, I promise.”  
He sighs but actually stops not too far away from the door. Nadia has moved to stand on the other side.  
“I’m just wondering, why are you here? Why would you betray your Empire, your home and everything you once stood for, to work with master Ktila?”

Scourge’s voice and appearance usually intimidates most people who converses with him, and even Kira will admit that this unsettles her, which is why she often prefers to keep him away. Nadia is either not affected by this, or too curious to care.  
“I have not betrayed my home, Jedi, nor would I. Compared to the lackluster and repressing ways of your order, I still believe in the path of the Sith. Passions, emotions and conflict is the only way to salvation through the Force.  
But, I am not as foolish as some of my brethren. I know that the greater enemy in this galaxy is not the Jedi, but the supposed Emperor of my home. He is a danger not just to the Empire but to the entire galaxy and consequently, he needs to die.  
It is my profound belief that the master of this vessel is the only individual capable of defeating the Emperor once and for all, which is why I serve her for the time being.”

Nadia watches him with interest, keeping quiet while he talks. When he’s done, she nods slightly, absorbing the information she’s getting.  
“I see. But, isn’t it true that the Emperor is dead now? At least, that’s what the rumors are saying among the Jedi. There hasn’t been any official statement yet, I guess.”

Scourge snorts and waves his hand dismissively.  
“A creature of such immense power as the Emperor does not die so easily, child. I will remain with Ktila until I can be absolutely certain of his demise.”

Kira joins in on the conversation, frowning as she moves closer.  
“Tsk, that’s bantha fodder. The Emperor isn’t the only reason you’re here. Admit it, you want to be close to Ktila. I know how you look at her and how you treat her.”

“Treat her?”

“Yeah, better than anyone else on this ship, and among the Jedi.”

“And you don’t think that’s because it is clear to me that she is the only Jedi worthy of my respect?”

She shrugs, looking unimpressed with his explanation.  
“Say what you want, Scourge, I have a feeling that I’m right regardless. Too bad you don’t stand a chance, not with Zal’riva around.”

Her words seem to amuse him somewhat, which is not quite what Kira would’ve hoped. She wanted to annoy him.  
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, little Jedi, but I am only here because I need to be. If I’m not, there is always the risk of Ktila and especially you, becoming complacent.”

Kira is not happy about it, but she does get somewhat angry at his words. How come he always manages to get to her?  
“Go to hell. I don’t need you to teach me about vigilance or whatever. I’m an expert on it!”  
Once more, he snorts but he doesn’t stop there. As he continues to walk, he lets loose another similar sound, but this one to such a degree that it’s almost a laugh.  
Kira’s frown deepens, and she practically snarls at the Sith as she moves towards the doorway to pursue him.  
“Hey, what are you laughing at?” He continues, now clearly sounding like he’s laughing, even if it’s a brief and rather quiet noise. “Listen to me, you little shit!”

Nadia giggles and as she’s already standing in the doorway, she moves her arms around her friend in an attempt to stop her from going too far.  
“Kira, calm down.”

She’s seething, an emotional response that she finds herself gaining all too often in his company.  
“Someday, I’m gonna kick that guy’s ass!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _For those who haven't been following my other fics, Nadia sought out Kira first after her meeting with Jaesa in "Among the faded tales" and met her again in "Tandem Triumvirate". Just so that this doesn't come out of nowhere._   
>  _And whether Kira was right about Scourge's feelings, well...we'll see!_


	23. Notions of hostility (JC + JK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _There's an OC in this chapter, an SIS agent that I created for my Smuggler fic, "Shattered hyperlanes". He appeared in[chapter 12](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6113152/chapters/14257258) only, I think, although I had initially planned to include him in more. Can't remember exactly why that changed but it doesn't matter. He's going to be in this and the next chapter as well._

In the silence of the room, only a few minor noises attempt to break it, as the regular and steady sound of boots tapping against the floor can be heard. Iron does her best to stay calm and focused but she will admit that it does somewhat rattle her. It appears patience is not this one’s strong suit, or perhaps this is just a special circumstance where she does not embrace it.  
“You should sit down and meditate. That would most likely help alleviating any unease you’re feeling.”

Ktila exhales briefly, arms still crossed as she wanders around the small entrance area of the Shielded Path.  
“I’m fine, thanks. Walking around like this helps me think clearly.”

Iron remains seated on her knees, hands resting on top of her legs.  
“It sounds more like you’re pacing.”

“Well, then you don’t know me very well.”

It is true, she does not, but it’s not a difficult task to assess what sort of emotional state that the other Jedi is in. She tries to hide it, but Iron can see through such rudimentary barriers.  
“They will be here soon.”

“I know that.”

“I can still sense the doubt within you. It seems that it is not as clear-cut as you say.”

Ktila rolls her eyes as she gets somewhat irritated. She doesn’t feel like justifying herself at this particular moment.  
“It’s just a bit annoying that they decided we have to meet on my ship. Couldn’t we have done so in their headquarters?”

“I thought you wished to get this assignment over with as quickly as possible.”

“I do.”

“Then what is the issue with having our introductions on board? It will start this mission as swiftly as possible.”

She is correct, of course, but Ktila simply do not trust the SIS and their intentions all that much.  
“Nevermind.”

Before Iron can continue the conversation, they hear some noise by the airlock and Iron rises to stand ready to greet whomever it is that they’re meeting. Ktila shifts her position, being the closest to door when it opens up.  
They’re greeted by the sight of two male humans walking inside. Both of them have fairly light complexions, slick clothing and…creative hairstyles. The one on the left has brown hair, a stubble around his cheeks and wears a red jacket with a high collar over a brown shirt and blue pants. He’s also got a few visible cybernetic implants over and at the side of his left eye. The man on the right has shoulder length black hair, a finely cut goatee and wears a long dark blue coat over a dark green shirt and brown leggings. The coat itself has a few white lines running across its length, creating some kind of pattern that Ktila isn’t sure whether it’s meant to be stylish or represent something.  
It is the right one who smiles and speaks first.  
“And I suppose you must be our Jedi then.”

Iron steps forth, stopping next to Ktila and places her arms together in front.  
“That we are. Greetings, gentlemen. I am master Iron’zeranz of the Jedi Council and this is master Ktila, the owner of this ship.”

“Pleased to meet ya, masters. The name’s Zachary Decraine, but Zach works just as well. The fine man next to me is operative Theron Shan.”

Theron inclines his head.  
“Yeah, nice to be here. Hope that our cooperation will work out well.”

Ktila looks a little bit surprised, arching a brow inquisitively.  
“Wait, Shan? Are you possibly related to the Grand master of the Jedi Order?”

Her question appears to inconvenience him somehow as he looks annoyed while he shakes his head.  
“Why does everyone keep asking that whenever they first meet me? It’s a pretty normal name!”

“I uh…sorry.”

Zach smirks, nudging his elbow gently into Theron’s side, which doesn’t do much to calm him down.  
“He is, though:”

Theron glares in his direction.  
“Look, can we just skip past this part? I don’t really want to talk about this kind of thing. We have a mission to do.”

Ktila raises her hands in defeat.  
“Alright, we’re done. No need to continue if it’s a touchy subject…”

“It’s not touchy, it’s just…”  
He sighs and crosses his arms.  
“Let’s just focus on why we’re here, okay?”

Iron remains unfazed by the exchange and continues as if nothing happened.  
“Very well. Grand master Satele Shan,” they all hear Theron exhaling once more, “has told master Ktila and me the basics of the mission but has not gone into details. She left that part up to you as she believed the SIS would wish to inform us directly.”

Before either of them can respond, Ktila interjects.  
“Yeah and she also failed to explain why your organization did not destroy the design documents of these tools to begin with.”

Iron would’ve hoped that the arguments were over but it appears Ktila has other plans. The agents share a quick look, before Zach lets Theron take this one.  
“Uh, would’ve thought that was obvious but, I suppose we could explain it. The SIS decided to keep the blueprints because they’re useful. The information available from both Doctor Godera and Doctor Tarnis’ work is invaluable. It had modifications and design choices that other people would never have thought of, or at least not any time soon. While these designs were unfortunately not Godera's specifically, they can still be utilized. We can study them, alter them, perhaps even find some way to apply parts or all of their technology elsewhere.”

The chiss does not look particularly pleased with his answer. It’s the exact kind of attitude she had feared.  
“Some of that may be true, but even Doctor Godera had to admit how dangerous these things could be in the wrong hands when I spoke to him. The security risk of this entire project was and is substantial. It was compromised once and certainly can be again.”

“That’s not gonna happen. The unfortunate…incident last time around was partially because the SIS was not as deeply involved as we should’ve been. General Suthra simply didn’t take the proper precautions, which we have.”

Ktila frowns, not looking impressed whatsoever.  
“Oh, is that so? You’re saying they weren’t taken once again then, this time directly from your hands? Copies may not be the same as theft, but it’s just as bad if the wrong kind of people get ahold of them.”

Theron falters in his response, taking a few seconds to consider it. It does seem like someone did screw up somewhere along the lines.  
“Well…you may have a point but, there’s no need to worry. We’ve tracked the culprits and we’ll be able to bring them in and solve this whole mess.”

“And what about next time then? What if someone goes after them again and you’re not as lucky regarding intel? This is the exact reason why you can’t have this type of secret just laying around.”

Theron takes hold of a sharper defense, feeling the need to defend his peers.  
“It’s not just lying around somewhere! We’ve got this stuff under heavy security and there’s no telling what type of technique that these criminals used. Maybe it was just something we couldn’t temporarily defend against or maybe they got lucky too. I can honestly say that it happens so rarely it’s basically non-existent.”

Ktila snorts derisively.  
“Non-existent? Agent, if you hadn’t noticed, whomever these people were they clearly didn’t have any problems or else you would’ve captured them already without us.”

“Hey, we invited you here out of courtesy! We knew you might’ve wanted to be involved, but that is not proof that we _need_ you for anything.”

“Oh, really? You want us to leave then, perhaps? Because I’d be just fine with that!”

“Go right ahead! If you can’t handle yourself in this type of situation, we have no use for you!”

Things are getting very heated between the two and Zach decides to clear his throat, very loudly of course, which makes both of them snap into his direction.  
“Look uh, I’m sure we all appreciate your…enthusiasm in this matter, but perhaps it’s best if we focus on the mission? I mean, we can bicker about the implications of it all at any point but, if we don’t act quickly we won't get the copies back, and then it won’t matter what we want to do with the originals.

While Theron and Ktila both seem rather displeased and glare at each other, they stay silent. Iron is thankful for his intervention.  
“I agree, agent Decraine. We should discuss the details instead.”

“Please, just call me Zach, or agent if you prefer.”

“Very well, agent. Have you been able to track whatever vessel that the culprits used to escape in?”

“We have indeed. I can show you.”  
He walks past the two Jedi, getting closer to the holoprojector and he insert a data disc into it. Above the projector they can see how a hologram of a ship appears, a model that neither of them are familiar with. The design seems to be inspired by some sort of insect-like creature at least.  
“This has been called a Swarmer-class infiltration craft, a sort of stealth ship made by a corporation out in the Outer Rim. They sell their gear mostly to factions that remain outside of our current war, which means neutral parties.”

“I see. How were you able to track this ship at all?”

“On the world where we have these databanks, which stored the design documents for the superweapon initiative, there are numerous highly developed sensors and tracking systems hidden upon its surface and just above the atmosphere. Any time a ship leaves or arrives, we can usually get a lock on them. They have the ability to scan certain stealth technology as well, by watching for emissions or some deflections of light. It’s quite sophisticated tech.  
In any case, these same sensors picked up a ship leaving not too long after the short malfunction happened. Our scanners managed to pick up the hyperspace signature as well as getting a quick identification of the ship model. Can’t say it was easy to simply follow those tracks but, our agents did their best.”

Theron has calmed down enough to help out with some commentary of his own.  
“We will admit that there was some luck involved. Our own operatives moved from planet to planet in order to follow this signature, but it was just on a whim that another agent found the ship, having to alter their previous mission to pursue the vessel when it fled again.”

Iron can spot the contours of light through the Force which makes her able to somewhat see the hologram in front of her, although not in the same way as the others do.  
“Where was it taken?”

“Somewhere in the outskirts of imperial space. We know the location, but we aren’t completely sure how long it will be held there. Might be they’ll switch it around some more.”

Zach nods in agreement.  
“Or they’ll make some kind of trade with the Empire on it, we dunno. Haven’t been able to scan the surface just yet.”

“Does this mean you believe that the Empire are not the ones who stole the blueprints?”

He shifts his arms behind his back, taking a deep breath.  
“Well, I guess that is the complication. Honestly, we aren’t a hundred percent either way. Could be that the imps simply used another kind of craft to trick us, or maybe they already have some kind of collaboration with this corporation.  
But if we have to give you our best guess, then yes, we believe it may be a third party that is attempting to sell it to the Empire.”

It seems that agents have made the same conclusion or that they possibly have just been briefed that this is the current situation. Either way, Theron leans back against the projector and takes over for his partner.  
“The intel about this is fairly recent. As soon as headquarters received it, the Director of SIS sent a message to your Order and prepared this whole assignment. We need to move fast if we want to act upon it.”

Iron turns to Ktila and the chiss inclines her head, seemingly being on the same page.  
“We understand and you shall have our full cooperation for this task. We wish to stop the Empire from attaining this technology as much as you do.”

Ktila really shouldn’t argue further but, she can’t help herself.  
“And hopefully, we can discuss what to do with the design documents overall at some later date.”

Theron rolls his eyes.  
“Take it up with the Director. It’s not our call.”

She scowls in irritation, but acknowledges the fact that it’s not his decision.  
“Maybe I will.”

Zach smiles, shaking his head slightly. He can sense that this is going to be a…rough mission.  
“In any case, we’re ready to move out whenever you are. Just give the word.”

Iron has already started thinking of measures for how to deal with the situation, especially if they have to face Sith. She hopes that is not the case but, then again, it could be a good way to take out some important foes.  
“We shall inform our crew. I hope it is not an issue that we have other people on this ship who will also be privy to this information.”

He shrugs, not seeming particularly bothered.  
“If you trust them, then that’s enough for us. No need to make a big deal out of it.”

“Well, I certainly do and I’m sure that Ktila feels the same of her companions. Just thought you should know.  
You should probably take one of the cabins in the crew quarters for the time being, as it will take a little while for us to fly to our destination.”

Before the group scatters, Ktila takes a path past Theron and speaks quietly enough that Iron doesn’t overhear her words.  
“Your hair looks ridiculous, by the way.”

He’s surprised, almost shocked over hearing such a jab from one of her Order. Not what he had come to expect from them at all.  
“Excuse me? Where’s that famous Jedi calm we hear so much about, huh?”

She snorts and starts wandering off in a quicker pace.  
“Speaking to the wrong Jedi.”

“Pft, you don’t say…”

As she wanders off, Zach remains by his side and gives him a smug look. Apparently he overheard.  
“Well, she’s right, you know. Should do something about that at some point.”

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear that from you, ‘Rhonin’.”

Zach laughs heartily as both men wander off to find some place to put down their gear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Ktila is very irritable in this arc, I know. It's just a lot of things at once - not being able to see Zal when she's longing for her, having to meet with one of her least favorite Jedi (altho that is changing) and the Republic screwing up with secret superweapons...again._   
>  _I think I'll have the conclusion for this particular arc next chapter._


	24. Concealment unhinged (JC + JK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _So, this chapter is unusually long. I would normally have tried to split this off into two chapters but, as I really wanted to end the mini-arc at four chapters like I promised, I just crammed everything into this one. Oh yeah and there's some action in this one. Or a lot. I'm not very good at that, but whatever._

As the Shielded Path exits hyperspace, most of the crew on board are already crowded on the small bridge, or at the very least around it. Kira sits behind the pilot’s console, checking the ship’s systems and takes them closer towards the dark blue orb in the distance, which remains their goal. Apparently the Sith call it ‘Ved Kathras’, a world that Kira has never heard of. Perhaps not all too surprising, as she has never been too good with all the names for imperial worlds.  
“Just a few minutes until we’ll be entering the atmosphere.”  
She glances over to the side, facing one of her companions.  
“Rusk?”

The chagrian soldier sits over by another set of instruments, checking them and the information flowing upon one of the displays.  
“Sensors aren’t picking up any signals from defensive systems. Either they don’t have any or they’re cloaked somehow.”

Zachary stands with his arms crossed further back, looking out through the windows like most of the rest.  
“The latter seems unlikely. From what we know of this world, it doesn’t see a lot of activity except for the occasional mining operation.”

Kira keeps her eyes on the controls, speaking to him without turning from them.  
“So? You don’t think they’d protect their miners?”

He shrugs.  
“They probably would but, might be that there’s nothing on right now. With the war effort, could be that they’ve had to abandon fringe worlds. This is definitely one of those far away from the center of the Empire.”

Switching information feed on one of the displays, Kira gives it a quick sweep while she slows down their speed. She doesn’t want to just rush them inside until her master gives the order.  
“Atmospheric readings show us that the planet should be mostly habitable, but I can pick up a few traces of really bad weather in certain regions. Some are pretty close to the one we’re heading towards.”

Ktila stands among those closest to Kira and she places a hand at the back of the chair.  
“Doesn’t matter, we need to find them no matter what storm we have to face. Take us down, Kira.”

“As you say, master.”  
She increases the speed and they begin their descent inside the outer shell of the world. She and Rusk keep monitoring for any sudden changes but can thankfully not see any that worry either of them so far.

Along the way, Theron approaches her, showing his own datapad to her as well.  
“Our tracker has got a lock on the ship, so we’ve got a pretty clear destination. You gotta switch course a few degrees to the north.”

The younger Jedi frowns and pushes away his device in irritation.  
“Yeah, yeah, I got it, spy guy. Get outta my face and we’ll reach our destination in no time.”  
Theron rolls his eyes, but Ktila is pleased with her former pupil’s response. Perhaps they’re equally annoyed about their current mission. They were both certainly involved with it last time and had similar feelings on the whole ordeal.  
The landscape below them appears to mostly be rock and dust, with not a lot of vegetation to break up the dreary length of brown and grey. If anyone does live on this part of the planet, it’s not the most enjoyable place.  
Eventually, they’re close enough to be within visual range of the facility and Kira sets them in a circular route around it, as to survey the area before they land.  
“Huh, that junkyard looks pretty abandoned from what our scanners can pick up. Well, except for the ship, obviously.”

Zach is already prepared to leave the bridge, but stops enough to say a few words.  
“Doubtful, but it is possible that they could’ve abandoned their ship here to take another. Regardless, we need to investigate.”

Iron nods in agreement.  
“Aye, we cannot leave until we know for certain what transpired here.”

Ktila places a hand on Kira’s shoulder.  
“Put us down close to it but, still enough of a range to be outside of any immediate fire angles.”

The younger Jedi does her best to perform according to instructions and when they finally land, it seems to satisfy most of them.  
They head out towards the entrance hall and the two Jedi masters turn to face the rest of their companions, with Iron taking charge for the time being.  
“Agent Shan and Agent Decraine will be accompanying us for obvious reasons, together with Kira and Nadia. The rest of you should remain in the ship.”

Doc shrugs.  
“Fine by me. Strange Sith worlds isn’t really my kind of locale anyway.”

Rusk nods sharply.  
“I’ll sit by the bridge and be prepared to extract you if necessary.”

The other soldier on the ship, Lieutenant Felix Iresso, gives Iron a quick salute.  
“We’ll defend the ship against any possible hostile forces, master Iron. Don’t you worry about us.”

Scourge stands a bit away from the rest, leaning against one of the doorways.  
“Don’t get yourself killed in there, Ktila. If this is an abandoned imperial facility, it is likely that they have traps prepared just in case.”

Ktila inclines her head.  
“Thanks, but I think we can handle ourselves. Our two agents are probably equipped to check those sorts of things.”

Kira on the other hand, looks slightly amused.  
“Aww, worried about us, Scourge? Or maybe you’re just jealous you’re not coming, huh?”

He snorts in her direction, looking rather unimpressed.  
“I’m sure your master will be fine but, it’s doubtful that you have the discipline to survive at all. I suppose you’re lucky that she’s with you.”

“Pft, I can survive alone just fine! You’ll see.”

Ktila sighs and shakes her head. Even when they’re not alone, those two are at it.  
“Well, none of us are going in alone, so that won’t be a problem. Now, stop your bickering and let’s get going.”

They leave the vicinity of the Shielded Path as it stands just outside the industrial complex’s grounds and approaches the grid fence around it. Except for the black and green ship, there’s nothing else that doesn’t appear to be quite dusty at the time being. Old machines, vehicles and equipment lay strewn around but all of it seems to be out of use for the time being. The Jedi keep their hands close to their weapons, just in case.  
Theron surveys the vehicle and then the facility.  
“Definitely the right vessel but, no sign of any movement. All we can do is check the interior of the building, I guess.”

Iron angles her face in his direction.  
“You don’t wish to examine the ship to begin with?”

Zach has one of his pistols already in his hand, as he searches for a path inside without necessarily breaking the fence.  
“We can leave that to your comrades, but as to not alert the people who are likely inside the factory, I believe it’s best to make our way around it.”

The rest won’t argue with them and simply follows their direction. If there’s anything two SIS operatives have the advantage against Jedi, it’s infiltration.  
The factory they approach is a processing plant, most probably for whatever ore and other materials that are mined on this world. Or were, as it does not seem to have any current activity within. In a way, the whole area gives off an eerie feeling with how abandoned it is. Ktila gets a sensation similar to when she has been around buildings that have had to be left behind during war, with the difference that this place does not show any signs of combat.

After jumping over the fence, the team decides to split, putting Ktila, Kira and Zach moving in from the left, while the other three takes the opposite side. They’ve got their earpieces which allows them to speak to each other if necessary.  
The closer they get to the entrance, the more Ktila feels a weird and yet somewhat familiar sensation. She glances at her companions, but neither of them appear to react similarly, as they keep their eyes on the path ahead.  
“Kira, do you sense anything?”

She glances in Ktila’s direction, surprised and somewhat bewildered.  
“Sense what?”

“You can’t feel any…unknown presence in the area?”

They’ve stopped now as Zach allows the Jedi to speak. Kira frowns, looking down as she tries to concentrate but soon shakes her head.  
“No, I can’t. Are you saying there’s something here?”

Instead of responding, Ktila puts one hand up to her other wrist and pushes a button to initiate the earpiece.  
“Iron, do you-“

The answer she gets is almost immediate, as if they both had been thinking the same thing.  
“Yes, I do. It’s coming from inside.”

Theron’s voice can soon be heard as well over the comm.  
“Something wrong?”

“We can both sense a Force presence from within this facility. It is faint, which might indicate that it is from a weak individual…or more likely, that it is someone attempting to obscure themselves from other Force users.”

Zach frowns, not particularly pleased with this information.  
“A Sith?”

Ktila shrugs.  
“We don’t know, as it’s impossible to tell.”

“Right. Well, you’re the experts. What do you recommend?”

“Nothing drastic. Let’s continue on ahead, but keep your eyes open as thoroughly as possible. Make no sounds other than what is necessary. The four of us should have our lightsabers prepared but not ignited.”

Iron responds over the comm.  
“I have nothing else to say other than that I agree. Let us proceed.”

Now with more determination and certainly feeling a lot more on edge, the team closes the distance to their separate entrances, walking inside as slowly and carefully as they can muster. The agents are set on opening the doors for them, but once they’re inside, Iron and Ktila both take point on their routes.  
The interior does not look very different from the outside. They see discarded tools, dusty and dirty floors with all sorts of leftover garbage and unfinished work across the walls and tables that adorn the corridors. Each of the consoles and terminals they pass by seem inactive and while they don’t have time to check each one closely, it’s clear that any power generator this place had has obviously been left to rust. That also mean no lights, but thankfully, there’s enough windows to at least illuminate their paths somewhat.

Nothing changes for either team until Ktila’s one reaches a larger room, with a much taller roof. A few more inoperable consoles can be seen by the entrances into this area, but most of it is made up of a system filled with conveyer belts. They are still and silent at this time, but they can still see evidence of former use with pieces of minerals lining the length of the belts.  
The actual contents are not of interest to the Jedi, but Ktila reacts instinctively by igniting one of her lightsabers, just as something descends on her location.  
Her blade is met by another weapon, a vibrosword, wielded by a darkly clad and masked figure.  
“Ambush!”

Kira hadn’t sensed it simultaneously with her master, but she certainly does now. She glances up just in time to realize that their opponents were waiting on the elevated walkways above the work level and now try to cut their enemy down from above. She’s not about to let that happen of course, as she ignites her double-edged lightsaber in time to parry two opponents. Zach doesn’t even check, but instead rolls away from his position as another attacker went for him.  
These four are joined by another four, and they split off as well as they can, with three on each Jedi and two on the SIS operative. The duo by Zach also wield blasters, forcing the agent to quickly get behind cover.

The aggressive style usually utilized by Ktila has to be toned down in her current situation as she’s forced to defend herself, her twin blades spinning around to meet each strike with an occasional move to evade. It isn’t easy and she’s quickly realizing that these people are well-trained, possibly even to fight Jedi. She can’t sense the Force from any of them but she has met several people without it who can fight on a similar level. At least she has it on her side, which allows her to occasional shove one of her foes away to give her some room.

Kira has a somewhat more difficult time, not used to being the focus of multiple opponents, nor fighting ones of such skill. She’s pushed further into the room, almost falling when she steps on a discarded rock on the floor, but she manages to correct her footing just in time to block another strike. She’s surprised when she backs into one of the conveyor belts however, which takes her slightly out of balance, allowing one of the attackers to cut her arm. It’s a shallow strike, but enough to let her arm sting with pain. She grits her teeth, spinning her blade around widely to force them back and then makes a backflip over it, before returning into a fighting stance.  
“C’mon you damn bastards! Can’t take down even one little Jedi? Pathetic!”

She hears an explosion from a thermal detonator by one of the corners, probably thrown by Zach, just before she notices how the three she fights also flip over the obstacle quite smoothly. Impressive acrobatics, although a little bit too precise for a bunch of random fighters. They’re good, but she wonders…  
A theory is formed in her mind and while she continues to defend herself, she also looks for opportunities to strike, gaps in their defenses. It’s difficult to find one, especially when she constantly has to look around and rely on the Force to warn her of anything occurring out of her vision, but she has to find out.  
Eventually, the chance appears and she strikes out with her blade. She actually hopes to just cut off the person’s head entirely, but her opponent tilts their head backwards just in time. Oh well, she can’t be all too lucky. It does hit the mask however, knocking it off and revealing the face below. It’s difficult for her to determine the nature of this being, other than the possibility that they’re human and probably male. It’s someone with dark brown skin, black beard and instead of natural eyes, there’s two yellow cybernetic implants, just as she suspected.  
“Master! They’re cyborgs!”

As she turns to glance in Ktila’s way, she notices how the chiss ducks below one blade, flips up to kick one of her opponents in the chest and giving her enough speed and movement to get sent backwards, slamming an elbow in the third one’s chest. It stuns them momentarily, giving her time to focus on the last one and launch a full-on assault.  
“All of them?”

“I think so! I’m not sure but-“  
She suddenly gasps and groans in pain from something piercing her leg. She had left herself open for a strike when trying to make sure that Ktila was alright, and of course they had taken it. Big mistake.

This also lessens the impact of Ktila’s attack as her protective emotions for her friend takes over.  
“Kira!”

The other two are about to use this opportunity to give her a lethal wound each, when suddenly one of them gets kicked away by a foot to their back and the other, the man Kira revealed, gets a closed fist slammed into the side of his head, toppling him to the ground. Moments afterwards, a yellow double-edged lightsaber ignites as Iron spins it around to force the third opponent away from the human.  
“Kira, are you alright?”

She grits her teeth, this time in pain as she stumbles backwards, grasping her leg. Bloodstains are already showing through her robes.  
“Shit. Y…yeah, I’m okay, it just stings like hell, that’s all. Thank you, master Iron.”

“You are welcome. Now, let us dispatch them together.”  
They both notice how the two cyborgs easily get back up into standing positions, even though the attacks made by Iron would’ve been enough to at least break bones in each. Even more evidence to Kira’s theory.

Ktila watched the exchange, feeling relief that the other Jedi master came in to save Kira’s life. Seconds after that, aid appears for her as well, as Nadia shouts when she stomps down next to one of the cyborgs, sending them flying with one of her explosive Force strikes.  
“Need assistance, master Ktila?”

The chiss smiles wryly and spins her blades around.  
“Would be appreciated.”

By the corner, Theron aids his partner and now when the numbers are getting evened out, they turn the tide on the previously rather grim-looking situation. Iron especially shows her proficiency in a fight, by being able to utilize the Force to her advantage in a lot more visible way. She throws around junk and leftover materials against her opponents and occasionally sends some spinning around her, almost acting like a makeshift barrier. Kira may fall into the position of merely supporting her, but she doesn’t really care. Besides, it’s rather awe-inspiring to see the miraluka fight and she realizes why she’s so respected and a member of the Jedi Council, at least if one counts battle capability.

Iron and Kira are also the first to actually kill one of their foes. While Iron makes the opponents focus mostly on her, as to spare her injured partner from such assaults, Kira gets a few chances here and there to lash out or knock some swing of their blades out of the miraluka’s path. This can also be used for their offensive, and when Iron slashes at one of the cyborgs, exposing a gap, Kira gets a clear line of fire, so to speak. She obviously takes it and pierces the chest with her lightsaber, before knocking them down with a kick. While Jedi are taught not to get all too excited or emotional, especially in battle, she feels quite a bit of satisfaction when witnessing the sparks erupting from the chest of her enemy. One down, two to go.

What she doesn’t notice while joining Iron again however, is something which the master is quick to spot and react to.  
“Kira, to me!”  
The human looks surprised, but does as she’s told for how sharply she’s spoken to. She sees how Iron throws her own arm up and uses the Force to knock the recent corpse away from them. It’s not until she turns around completely that she realizes why. The sparks on it had increased, becoming flames and when it ends up several meters away from them, it explodes, sending a shockwave their way. Thankfully, they have the conveyor belt to take cover behind.

“What…the hell was that?!”

They’re not the only ones to hide from the explosion, as the cyborgs have also retreated momentarily. Iron grips her blade harder but holds Kira’s arm in the other. She got the younger Jedi down just in time.  
“It appears that they self-destruct upon death. We may have to attempt non-lethal takedowns.”

“Non-lethal? But that’s…that’s crazy! These guys are way too tough for us to be able to knock ‘em down.”

“That may be true, but their hides are not invulnerable to our lightsabers. Cutting off limbs, especially legs, should suffice.”

Kira smirks somewhat, not expecting to hear that from a member of the Jedi Council, but she nods eagerly in agreement.  
At the same time, the others obviously saw the result of the death for one of the cyborgs and have tried to counteract their foes in a similar way now, hoping to take them down without killing them.  
Ktila and Nadia are not quite as effective fighters when it comes to synergy, but their united offensive style does do quite a bit of damage at least, occasionally slicing open a wound or cutting off parts of the outer lay of their enhanced hides.  
It is this duo who succeeds with one of the first non-lethal takedowns. Ktila and Nadia went for a system of trying to constantly switch opponents, hoping to put them out of balance by having circling strikes between each other on each of the three foes. It works to some degree as Ktila gives one of them a cut across their lower abdomen, making them stagger. They forget about that there’s no second strike from the chiss and when the defenses go up, it’s instead Nadia from a flanking position who strikes low, piercing the leg before they manage to react. It’s not an all too clean of a cut, but enough to make them lose control, stumble and fall to the ground.

The padawan grins and joins Ktila against the remaining duo.  
“We did it! We got one of them down!”

Ktila smiles, but tries to regain her solemn attitude.  
“Good, but let’s not lose focus. They are still just as deadly, no matter how few they are.”

She is feeling somewhat more confident though, knowing they can do it. It’s a little bit strange to fight by the side of someone she’s not used to, but she quickly realizes that they complement each other better than anticipated.  
As always when getting one’s hopes up however, that should be done in moderation. To their dismay, they spot half a dozen more fighters entering by the other side of the room and closing in on their positions. Ktila frowns, preparing herself but there’s something else. Something…hiding in the distance, trying to evade their notice. Can it be?  
“Iron! What do you see to the northwest?”

It appears she remembers the miraluka’s Force sight and Iron follows her directions, looking around past the walls, even as she’s trying to defend herself.  
“I see it. Our Force user is past these walls, currently moving away from our position.”

Ktila frowns and curses, knowing that they need to take them down or this may all be in vain but at the same time, there are just too many to fight.  
“We have to catch them! It must be this person who has the plans!”

She notices how Kira stands up, clutching her side momentarily while she takes a step back.  
“There’s too many! We may have to retreat instead!”

Iron does her best to defend Kira and makes sure to step in between the new ones as well, to get their attention as much as possible. She also realizes what must be done and that they have to act immediately.  
“Nadia, it is time.”

The sarkhai glances in her direction, somehow understanding the sentiment and she nods.  
“Let’s do it.”

Ktila kicks one of her opponents away and has to back off to follow them.  
“What’s going on? What are you doing?”

Nadia stops right by her master and closes her eyes. As she does, light begins to glow in her hands, as Iron increases her ferocity in attempting to defend herself. It doesn’t work perfectly, but that she keeps them back to any degree at all is impressive.  
“Ktila, come to us and stay close.”

“I don’t understand what’s going on! What are you-“

“Quiet and focus on defending my padawan.”  
She doesn’t like being told what to do but, Iron sounds rather earnest in giving these orders. Obviously, it is of importance, so she does what is necessary.

The confusion lasts only for a few more seconds, and both Ktila and Kira can sense how Nadia is gathering a huge amount of energy into herself, something they might even label as dangerous. What the hell are they planning?  
“I’m ready, master.”

“Kira, Ktila, focus on the Force and push them back!”

There’s not a lot of room to actually act on this, but they do their best, summoning power into themselves and shoving their opponents as much as they can. It’s not hugely successful and their cyborg opponents merely seems staggered. After this occurrence, however, Nadia raises one of her bright hands up and then kneels down to slams it into the ground. The immediate vicinity around her, a meter or two, remains unscathed, but all around them they can see a golden field appearing, sending a shockwave outwards with such strength that the previously simply staggered foes are sent flying tens of meters away from the center of the room and slamming hard into the closest object they meet. Some even go through two items before stopping.  
Ktila and Kira are both left stunned over the padawan’s ability, seeing how strong she can be when she gets the chance. Unfortunately, it appears that both of the SIS agents were knocked down as well and compared to the more sophisticated cyborgs, it is hard to say if they’ll get back up.

Iron turns to look at Ktila.  
“We will hold these people in this room, but you must chase after the Force user.”

She looks shocked, understanding that it was all a distraction.  
“What? But…there’s too many, you can’t-“

Iron’s voices gets somewhat sterner.  
“We do not have time to argue. Go now, before it is it too late. Those plans are crucial, more important than our lives.”

She emphatically disagrees with that assessment, but it is true that this may be the only chance they get. She nods and then with a determined frown, she rushes ahead, jumping past the conveyor belts, machines and other tools on the way, as she moves out through one of the exits by the opposite side of where they entered, leaving her friends behind temporarily. She feels rather guilty doing so, but what choice does she have? They can’t let this bastard get away.  
  


* * *

  
Using the Force to amplify her speed, Ktila passes by many more corridors and passages to different sections of the factory, ignoring all of them as she runs through the darkness she is met with on the road ahead. There are less windows here, which decreases her visibility, but she decides to rely entirely on the Force and the presence of the one she pursues.  
Eventually, she senses how they’ve stopped, not running anymore and while she might take that as a good sign, it may also be true that they’ve prepared an ambush for her. She skips any stealthy approach at this point, keeping her weapons drawn and ignited just in case. The unity of green and blue light which shimmers through the area is enough for her to see anything within a few meters, but thankfully, she faces no traps.

A locked security door stands in her way by the last wall she has to pass through, but she digs into it with both her weapon, carving an entrance for herself as swiftly as she can.  
On the other side, she’s met with a half-lit room, or rather a hangar. Except for a few terminals, she sees nothing more than two vehicles inside, both of them shuttles. The one to the right has started its engines and the hangar doors are slowly opening, sending more light in from the outside.  
Ktila’s eyes turns towards the being which stands by a console next to it, who doesn’t turn when she comes closer, but does speak to her. Whomever they are, they too are wearing darker robes and a cowl. By the sound of the obscured voice coming through speakers, it is likely that they are equipped with a mask. Compared to the cyborgs though, this person is really tall, most likely above two meters.  
“You are resilient and swift, Jedi. I underestimated the Republic’s tenacity and cunning, it seems.”

Ktila gets close, but not all too much as to not charge into a trap and she points one of her blades in their direction.  
“In the name of the Republic and the Jedi Order, you’re under arrest for the theft of military secrets. Hand them over and I won’t have to cut you down.”

She hears a short and very brief chuckle and she notices how the shuttle lifts up into the air, but doesn’t go off just yet. Remotely operated, it seems.  
“So aggressive, for a Jedi. Your order never ceases to amuse me with its failure to follow its own tenets.”

This may be true, but Ktila has never been one to follow the code to the letter anyway.  
“Who are you? Sith? You’re certainly not Jedi.”  
She can’t get a good sense whether they have any majority of light or dark either, actually. Makes things a lot more inconclusive.

Soon enough, they turn around and faces Ktila, but it’s not quite what she expected. Compared to the other masks which at least had gaps for the eyes, this one is almost completely flat and faceless, except for two small speakers down by the jaw. It is…somewhat unnerving.  
“I follow neither of your Orders, nor do I care for them. This unfortunately means that I shall not be giving the blueprints back to you either, Jedi. I must leave, immediately.”

Ktila grits her teeth and advances, knowing she has to stop them.  
“You think I’m just gonna let you go?!”

She raises her blades as if to strike, but she knew it wouldn’t be completely possible. Her opponent summons a lightsaber to their hands, igniting it just in time. What faces hers is a completely white blade and when they meet, the air around them vibrates somewhat with power. Clearly not the weapon of a Sith, or at least not with the typical choices for colors.  
“I did not think so, no, but you will have no choice. You cannot defeat me, master Ktila, even if you wanted to try.”

“People displaying such overconfidence always hide their faltering nature.”

They begin a deadly dance in the middle of the hangar and to Ktila’s surprise, she’s the one who almost exclusively goes on the offensive. She strikes as quickly and hard as she can, attempting to find any gaps in the defense but there are none presented to her. When she notices she won’t get through with weapons, she tries to take a step back and utilize the Force, but it is deflected by her opponent as easily as a master discards a padawan. She’s shocked, almost offended by how easily it went down. This seems to amuse her opponent, who lowers their blade slightly.  
“As I was trying to tell you, this is a futile gesture. Step aside, and I won’t have to kill you.”

“Won’t let you go that easily.”  
Ktila frowns, holding her weapons up again. She attempts to use a trick instead then, coming in for more strikes with her lightsabers but when gaining the opportunity, she slices one of the terminals nearby and sends the remains of the machine in her opponent’s path. This causes them to cut the pieces apart as they’re too late to block with the Force and Ktila sees a point which she can use to her advantage, using all her might to impale it.

Once more, she underestimates the other Force user, as they may not have had much time to knock the terminal away, but it does not require a lot of power to deflect a weapon. Ktila senses how her lightsaber is redirected at the last second, which instead exposes a weakness in hers and that opportunity is seized upon. The white blade lashes out and she has just barely enough time to throw herself aside as it digs into her flesh. It cuts into her shoulder, slicing a few centimeters inside and she tumbles to the ground, shouting in pain. The agony makes her eyes shut momentarily and she can do nothing more than drop one weapon before desperately retreating.

Fortunately, her opponent does not try to chase after her, for instead they slowly and confidently walk towards the shuttle, still with the weapon in hand.  
“You have an impressive tenacity, master Ktila, but your power is still far from equal to mine. You are lucky that I do not seek your death as of yet.”  
They confidently walk up into the hatch of the shuttle and Ktila grits her teeth, almost reeling from the pain in her shoulder. It’s been a while since she got injured and at this point, she feels like her arm may have almost been on the verge of coming off. At the edge of her eye, she sees how blood has begun to stream down across her arm as well.  
“I suspect we shall see each other again soon enough, if you survive. I do advice you to leave this facility, however, as it will not linger for long.”

The hangar doors have opened fully now and she can only watch as the shuttle closes its hatch and then flies out through it. She feels failure descending upon her harshly, before she remembered the words. What did they mean by not lingering for-  
…oh, _shit._  
  


* * *

  
Back in the room where the majority of the fighting is still happening, Iron and the others are doing their best to keep the dozen or so cyborgs back, finding it rather difficult to reduce their numbers in any effective way. They are good fighters and while the two agents have regained consciousness with the others, their support only does the bare minimum to keep everyone functional.  
Iron had to use some of her power earlier to keep their foes locked in this facility as well, as some of them tried to chase after Ktila. Obviously, she would not allow such a thing and used the Force to pull them back to the center. It is the three Jedi in a half-circle which currently parry and block most attacks, with some blaster shots occasionally flying by them.

Kira is the one tiring the most, as her stab wound is still hurting her.  
“We can’t…go on like this forever! We need to retreat!”

Theron’s voice can be heard further behind.  
“I tend to agree with the Jedi-pilot! Ktila has probably caught up with the Sith, so let’s get the hell out of here and be ready to escape!”

Iron spins her blade around, blocking two attacks before sending them flying with a push from her powers.  
“We cannot know that for certain. We need confirmation over the comm devices before we can be sure she has the blueprints.”

He frowns slightly.  
“And what if hers is broken or something? We can’t delay these guys forever!”

The most interesting part right now is that they seem to speak as if their enemies aren’t even listening, but with how silent they are being at all time, even while they lose limbs, it is more like they attack on some sort of automatic programming rather than by their own wills.  
Kira narrowly avoids another attack before slicing open a crack in the arm of the same person, and stepping back.  
“I know my master and she will succeed. We should trust her and leave while we still can.”

Analyzing a situation at the same time as she has to fight isn’t ideal, but Iron has had to suffer through it before. At this point however, she falters in her decision.  
“I still think we need to-“

They suddenly hear Ktila’s voice blaring over the comms.  
“Everyone, get out of the factory, now! No time to explain, just go!”

All of them look rather surprised and while it does help with the choices, it also surprises them all. What did she find?  
Before they can speak with her, they see how the cyborgs have suddenly begun to move towards them but not to strike, or at least not all. While one of them slashes at her, quite clumsily so, another pair grabs Iron’s arms and tries to hold her still. Around the room, she sees how more of them try to do the same to Nadia and Kira, with the latter protesting the most.  
“Hey, what the fuck?! Let go, you bastards!”

It isn’t a complete success, but Iron watches them all and suddenly realizes what’s going on.  
She finds that the time is lacking for explanations, just like Ktila suggested and instead she gathers as much power to her feet as she possibly can and stomps the ground. A shockwave shoots out against those in front of her and the closest ones to the two younger Jedi. After that she turns and runs.  
“To the exits, hurry!”

They don’t question a second order when being of the same nature and all of them begin to run. It’s not until they glance over their shoulders and they see how the cyborgs quickly rises with sparks beginning to shoot out from different cracks and openings in their bodies, that they finally understand what’s going on.  
As they flee, the thought of what’s occurring is not only frightening because of the damage that will be caused, but also for the nature of these creatures. They’re willing to sacrifice themselves so easily without a care for their own well-being at all? There are soldiers, assassins and mercs willing to do the same here and there, but these ones show almost no emotion of a mass-suicidal attack. Kira momentarily wonders how much of their sentience is really left or if only machines remain.

It does appear like their speeds are not reduced, even while the core of their beings are cracking and disintegrating, making Iron realize that it is not sure the group will make it out in time.  
She allows Kira, Nadia and the agents to get ahead of her and tries her best to throw as many objects in the path behind her as possible, hoping that it will slow their pursuers down somewhat.  
When they reach the doors, she throws them shut and while the others keep running, she wastes time trying to block it by using her power to lift machines and scraps of junk in front.

Nadia throws a glance behind her just as Iron puts down the last piece.  
“Master, you’re too slow! Stop that and keep running!”

The others turn to look as well and that is when Iron moves to face them, but…it is almost too late. Just as she gets away, the area behind them erupts as the cyborgs detonate themselves, sending a wave of destruction hurling towards her.  
Iron just barely manages to hold her hands up in order to try to block the detonation with the Force, but it is not enough to save her completely. She’s knocked backwards, like a toy being kicked away, her body landing with a painful thud and bounces away. Thankfully, it is far enough away that neither Nadia, Kira nor the agents were hit by it, which seems to have been the purpose of why she acted this way.

After covering their eyes from the bright lights, Nadia looks up with shock and fear towards Iron lying on the ground.  
“NO! Master!”

Kira joins her and when they reach the miraluka, they can see that she is still breathing but there are debris, blood and burn marks across most of her front. She was too close to it all towards the end and without enough time to defend herself from it. Zach frowns and grabs one of her arms.  
“We need to get her to the ship and into a kolto tank right away. Help me with her, Nadia.”

While she’s distraught, the padawan does as suggested, grabbing the other arm to carry her off.  
Theron redirects his attention to Kira who looks worriedly at the still burning crater that was made by the explosion.  
“What are you doing?”

Kira looks unsure, glancing around and hoping to find what she’s searching for. She ignores the agent and puts her hand towards the earpiece.  
“Master Ktila? Are you there?”  
Silence for several seconds and her unease increases substantially. She better has gotten out of there, or Kira will never forgive her.  
“Ktila? Answer me!”

After a few more moments, they thankfully hear noise across the line, although mostly coughing at first.  
“Don’t scream, please…I’m hurting enough as it is.”

Kira shivers in relief, having been too afraid of what may have happened, especially after what knocked down Iron.  
“Where are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m behind some rocks a few hundred meters from the building. Am I okay? Well…I guess it depends how you define that. I’m bleeding and generally feel like crap, but I’m alive. Your side thankfully took the brunt of the explosion. Could use some help, though. Are you all alive too?”

While Theron wants to tell Kira to get back to the ship, as she is injured as well, he realizes the other Jedi won’t leave until she has retrieved Ktila.  
“We are and glad to hear your voice again, master Jedi. Would’ve been disappointed if you fell now. You got the files?”

As they begin to run back towards the chaos that remains of the factory, Ktila doesn’t answer right away for some reason. Next they hear her voice, it is with a disappointed tone that she speaks.  
“…no, I didn’t. I’m sorry…they got away. I underestimated my opponent’s strength. I’ll take full responsibility for this failure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Iron will be fine, by the way, in case anyone was worried._   
>  _Now that I'm done with this mini-arc, I'm moving to another character and just like someone requested, it'll be some Bery/Lenorr. This isn't to say that I just try to appeal to my reader's desires or anything! I mean, this is something I chose on my own and it's because I want to write it! (altho I do totally give into pressure/requests at times)_


	25. Memory damnation (Sm)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Alright, here's that Bery/Lenorr thing I promised. It's fluff...ish. I'm never actually sure what constitutes as fluff but, I think this is as close as I can get._

After finally closing and securing the airlock on the Hypertrail, Bery lets out a relaxed and somewhat relieved sigh. It feels good to be back on the ship after having been busy with business for the past few days, but that’s not the only reason. In fact, it only adds to the overall enjoyable factor to her that the ship is really quiet this day, as long as the engines are off at least. Almost all of the crew are off and away doing other things in various parts of the galaxy. It’s unusual for that to happen, as there’s at least always one or two who sticks around as they may have nothing else to do, but apparently, their schedules had collided this time. Bery had helped drop off some of them, obviously, even though she wasn’t about to get them to their exact destinations. Her ship isn’t that kind of transport service. 

It's not really possible to say that Bery is ‘alone’, though, and that’s not her intention either. Instead, she’s accompanied by the one person that she does want to spend time with on her ship and that same woman comes wandering into the corridor now.  
Lenorr pushes some of her black hair out of her eyes and places it behind an ear as she walks around the corner, approaching her shorter girlfriend.  
“Has Akaavi left?”

Bery smiles and when the Sith is standing right in front of her, she just leans into her chest. No permission needed for such actions. Or well, at least none that the twi’lek cares about.  
“Mhm, she did. She’s going off on some kind of hunt or somethin’, I dunno. Told us not to bang in the workout room.”

Lenorr places her arms around Bery in an embrace and then arches one of her eyebrow ridges in a questioning manner. She doubts Akaavi would be that coarse with her words, but the Captain may have summarized the intent.  
“Erm, okay? I don’t think we were planning that anyhow.”

Bery had been burying her face right into Lenorr’s chest for a moment, but now looks up with a slight grin on her face.  
“Are you kidding? That’s exactly what need to do now!”

Words she should’ve expected to hear, of course, but she tends to forget how blunt Bery can be. Even as Lenorr laughs, she realizes that Bery is very likely quite serious in her claims.  
“I think sticking to the bedroom will suffice.”

“Mm, and the shower. Maybe the kitchen too, as no one will be there now and I kinda like the idea of doing it while cooking. Although the workout place does have some nice benches…”

Lenorr rolls her eyes, trying not to stare directly into that smug gaze.  
“I don’t even get why you’d want to be there anyhow. Whenever it isn’t cleaned, it smells really bad in there.” 

“Are you kidding? The sight and smell of you all sweaty is like, an aphrodisiac to me…”

She emits another short laugh as Bery pushes a bit closer, the implication being apparent.  
“Are you sure you’re not a little bit Sith? You do sound like one sometimes.”

“Not that I know of but, can’t be sure, I guess. Maybe that’s why you’re so into me.”

“I doubt it, but anything is possible. In any case, just because we’re alone for a week, this doesn’t mean we’re going to explore all your fantasies together.”

Bery’s grin starts to widen, her gaze turning almost challenging.  
“You wanna make a bet about that, babe?”

Lenorr returns a smirk and pokes the twi’lek’s nose.  
“No, I do not.”

“See? It’s because you know I’m right.”

“No, it has more to do with that if we make it into a bet, you’ll do everything you can to win.”

Bery grabs the collar of Lenorr’s shirt and pulls her down closer to the twi’lek’s height, her voice lowering enticingly.  
“Mm, you know me so well.”  
Her hand slides in around the Sith’s neck and pulls her into an eager kiss. The move isn’t really needed as Lenorr will always reciprocate when given the sign for it, but it’s just among the type of play that they engage in. 

After finally separating again, just barely, Lenorr nudges her nose along her partner’s and speaks in a softer tone.  
“So, what more do you want to do during this week? We could maybe go somewhere with a pleasant view.”

Lenorr notices a slight twitch of Bery’s lekkus at the touch, but she’s not quite sure what it means. They’ve spent many months in each other’s company now, but she still has trouble figuring out some of the physical codes. Perhaps it’s the same in return.  
“Dunno yet. I mean, we don’t have forever, so heading for the Outer Rim might not be the best idea. Still, there’s some planets in the Mid Rim that might be interesting.”  
She disentangles herself, making sure to still keep their eyes locked.  
“However, first things first, we gotta establish a proper schedule for taking the helm.”

She blinks, looking confused at the suggestion.  
“Pardon?”

“Well, you know, it’s only the two of us now so, we have to rely on each other. I mean, I’d like to just stay in our room, read, have sex, get some drinks and watch vids but, if we’re going into space, it’s not that easy.”

“Is that really necessary? Don’t we…have an autopilot for that?”

Bery snorts and shakes her head.  
“Yeah, but that only gets us so far. It can do automatic stuff, like handle basic docking, take us in and out of hyperspace, fly us in a route that has been thoroughly specified, etc. But space always has anomalies, and we gotta deal with these kinda things ourselves.”

“And you can’t fly it on your own? I thought you did that in the past.”

The twi’lek begins to smirk, planting hands at her hips as if somehow feeling another challenge.  
“Tsk. Well yeah, most of the time, but it wasn’t without trouble. Flying a ship, even a freighter, requires a little bit of help. There’s system checks, maintenance and sometimes the occasional repair or replacement which needs to be done. I used utility droids for that in the past, but after Skavak screwed me over and ejected them, I didn’t feel a need to replace them when I had Risha, Corso and the others.  
Now they’re not here though, and since we don’t have any new droids, you’re going to have to assist me. And I’m guessing you’re not very good at the mechanical stuff?”

Lenorr clears her throat somewhat awkwardly.  
“Well…no.” 

“That’s what I thought. This means I’ll have to do checks while you fly. Don’t worry, it’s not like that has to be done all the time, just every now and then. But if there’s an emergency, we have to rely on each other. You can do it, right?”

She looks uncomfortable, something which has several causes and most of them she’d prefer not to speak of.  
“I…I’m not sure.”

“What? Why not? Didn’t the Empire teach you to fly ships?”

“Of course they did! Well…mostly.”  
As Bery continues to look at her strangely, Lenorr sighs and gives in. Perhaps it’s best to explain rather than let this fester.  
“Yes, I was taught how to pilot a ship, or at least the basics, back in the early days of my academy years. Everyone gets to learn how to fly a shuttle and a small ship, but nothing more than that, unless you have extended lessons.  
However…” She strokes a hand along Bery’s shoulder, looking at her lips rather than eyes. “…I haven’t actually done anything like that in years, nor do I have much experience with it.”

“Years? But…how does that work? You went from planet to planet all the time, right?”

“I did, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I had to personally fly anything. We had military personnel and the occasional droid doing this for us. Even the system of air speeders has automatic services by droids. I just…never needed to, I suppose.”

Bery arches a brow in a mix of surprise and amusement. Well, it’s perhaps a reasonable conclusion after all, seeing as how she has lived a lot more privileged than a street kid from Nar Shaddaa.  
“Huh, hadn’t thought about that. Well then, I guess it’s time we brush up your skills, right?”

She grabs ahold of Lenorr’s wrist and starts dragging her away towards the bridge. The Sith remains doubtful.  
“Wait, you mean right now?”

“Duh. You gotta fix these things as quickly as possible, or it may become a problem.”

“Bery, I…I’m not sure that I’m ready!”

“Relax, babe, you’ve got me here to help you out. Just listen to what I say and you’ll be fine.”

Despite some additional minor protests, there’s no way to squirm out of this and Lenorr is eventually taken to the small bridge on the freighter and then gently pushed into the pilot seat.  
Lights, buttons, supplemental text and other devices extend before her, immediately confusing her. Well, some things are somewhat familiar perhaps, but she already feels overwhelmed.  
“…this looks nothing like an imperial ship’s controls.”

Bery smiles wryly, standing next to the seat.  
“Yeah, I know, my baby’s gear looks better.”  
Lenorr shakes her head, but doesn’t say anything to contradict it. Bery continues, starting to point at certain items around the board.  
“Right, so let me give you a quick rundown. Over here, you’ve got the navigational controls, pretty basic stuff. To your left, there’s the sensor displays, and then on the other side, there’s system instruments. Up top, you’ve got supplemental engine information, life support readings, speed meter, hyperspace activation and so on.”

It doesn’t really help how nonchalant Bery acts about it, as Lenorr can barely keep up. She tries her best though, hating to be defeated, especially by simple instructions.  
“Right. I…I think I have it.”

“Good! Knew you would. So, how about you do the takeoff, huh?”

As Bery is leaning over slightly, one hand on the armrest of the pilot’s seat, their eyes are basically at level with each other.  
“What? You want me to get us into space?”

“Yeah, unless you think that’s impossible. I don’t wanna push you but, I also want to see what you can do.”

She takes a deep breath before beginning to check all the buttons around her.  
“It’s…been a while.”

“Well, I believe in you! I’m sure you can do it. In fact…”  
She moves her hands towards her neck and detaches the goggles that hangs by it and instead tries to wrap them around Lenorr.  
“Here, you can wear these.”

“…what are you doing?”

“These are my lucky goggles. Always wear ‘em when doing something difficult. Had them for years and we’ve gone through some situations that people call ‘impossible’. Naturally, I succeeded and it’s all because of these.”

Perhaps cute in a way, but not something Lenorr wishes to indulge in. She raises a hand to refuse.  
“I won’t wear your stupid eye pieces.”

“Oh c’mooon, they’ll look great on you! And didn’t you hear? They bring luck!”

“No, they don’t. And even if they did, I wouldn’t wear them.”

Bery shows her a disapproving pout, putting them back around her neck.  
“Suit yourself. Don’t go crying to me when you’re in desperate need later!”

“I have the Force. If I need something beyond the physical, I’ll use that.”

“Alright then, Force pilot, get us out of here.”

“Okay. I uhm, I think I can do it. Give me…just a minute.”  
It takes about half a minute for her to assess each button, and then another to decide where she needs to push to get them out of here. When the engine starts up, Bery smiles at her and Lenorr actually feels a bit of pride and excitement, sensing how she might be more capable than she thought. This increases once the ship actually starts to ascend, very slowly. 

However, she stops when Bery raises a finger.  
“Not to burst your bubble or anything but uh, you might wanna send the orders to extend the roof hatch. I mean, unless you wanna bash our heads against it. I know you Sith like to be rough and that’s okay in bed, but not so much with ships.”

The joke would’ve been more funny if Lenorr wasn’t busy with panicking to halt the ship before she does just that.  
“Oh…right, yes. How uh, how do I…?”

Bery smiles but instead of fixing it for her, she indicates a few buttons on one side of the control panel.  
“You’ve got communication buttons there. It’s for simple commands, rather than voice calls. The computer will take care of the rest.”

“…thank you.”

Out through the window, they see barely anything except the walls, but by a display that shows what happens above them, they notice how a hatch slowly slides open, revealing the night sky for them. Despite the time of day on the planet, they follow their own clock that they use on the ship and it’s still in the early afternoon by that standard.  
Lenorr makes sure to be extremely careful with getting them out of the hangar, more so than Bery ever is, but that’s mostly because of the difference in experience. Eventually, they do get out and the Sith works on setting them in the correct angle and then ignites the thrusters to push them higher into the air.  
“Well done! Almost there now.”

“Wait, just…I need to focus.”

She’s somewhat uncertain about how much is needed to combat the gravitational pull, so she exerts them a bit harder than what may be necessary. Can’t be too careful, right?  
That’s when Bery leans closer and decreases the speed slightly.  
“Hey, don’t go too hard on her.”

“Excuse me?”

Bery raises a hand and gently strokes it on the top of the control board, away from any buttons.  
“My baby is quite a sensitive one, ya know? She doesn’t like it when you push her too much.”

Lenorr looks at her skeptically, even more so than the whole issue with the goggles.  
“…it’s a machine.”

The twi’lek locks eyes with her, unsure whether to settle on being offended or amused by her lack of understanding.  
“You know what kind of people say that? Those who have no clue how ships work. They’re more like us than you know, with personalities, moods and everything.”

She knows how futile it is to argue with Bery regarding ships, so it’s best just to surrender quickly.  
“…if you say so.”

Bery aids her further until they get out of the atmosphere and soon enters orbit, but trying to get away from that as well. The endless length of space sprawls out before them and normally, Lenorr wouldn’t think twice on that, but as she’s in control of the vessel now, that overwhelming sensation returns.  
“You ready to take us out of this system?”

“…I’m not so sure.”

“Well, it is more complicated to get into hyperspace. Gotta get the right coordinates, plot a course, charge the engine, divert power and so on. Although, if you know what you’re doing, it’s a piece of cake.”

“Yes well, I’m not into sweets.”

This elicits a humorous reaction from Bery, as it’s not all too often Lenorr emits jokes, especially not when she’s tense.  
“Not true, since you love me.”

“You’re not ‘sweet’, you’re spicy. I much prefer that kind of taste.”

It’s not often she’s called that, but seems to be apt and Bery enjoys it. However, they need to focus on the matter at hand and it appears the Sith may need a helping hand.  
“Move your hands.”

Without another warning, the twi’lek suddenly sits down right on top of Lenorr’s legs and puts her hands together to stretch her fingers.  
“Uhm, what are you doing?”

“Thought I’d show you more directly. You just gotta watch, that’s all. I’ll try to take it slowly so, best to pay as much attention as you can, alright?”

Lenorr looks amused at the whole situation, although not really from a critical standpoint.  
“And…you need to do it from my lap?”

“Well, you’ll see more clearly this way, don’t you think?”

“You don’t think this may be too distracting of an instruction, then?”

Bery glances over her shoulder with a confident smile.  
“You’ll just have to try your best to pay attention to the instruments rather than my amazing body. I know that’s close to impossible but, you just have to put in a lot of extra effort.”

As they’re now seated together, Lenorr looms somewhat above her again and she leans her head over Bery’s shoulder, almost putting their cheeks together.  
“Do you doubt my self-control?”

“You’ve almost planted your hands on my breasts immediately, babe. You tell me.”

Lenorr smirks, running her hands tighter around Bery’s waist. At the same time, the twi’lek tilts her head further to the side, a hand moving up to caress one of Lenorr’s spurs, the front tendrils that extend by her jaw. Few people know just the way to do it in a pleasurable manner, but Bery has become an expert in this task. As they kiss once more, the touch warms Lenorr’s body, getting her more excited than is necessary. Perhaps this is not as much an issue of restraint as the Captain being a tease. 

They put everything they can into steering themselves away from one another however, as they really do have to get into the situation at hand.  
“Alright, you may have a point, but I will do my best. Show me.”

“Watch closely, or else you’ll never learn. I’ll make a test for you later.”

Bery starts to explain to her, step by step, in how to get them into and out of hyperspace. When it comes to getting down through a planet’s surface, or something of that nature, she thinks it’s best to save that for later. Not that she believes Lenorr actually needs everything told in detail, as the memory for this is somewhere in her mind, and she simply hopes to awaken it.  
On top of this, she doesn’t actually fly them into hyperspace at all, but instead tests Lenorr’s knowledge and of course, her attentiveness. The Sith does fail the first time, earning a playful pinch from her girlfriend, until she finally manages to stay focused enough to complete her simple assignment. 

When they burst into hyperspace, Lenorr feels somewhat pleased with herself once more. It’s been so long since she tried this, but not all of the old lessons have fallen away, it seems. She just needs to continue working on it for a while and then she’s sure she’ll have grasped what is needed to be a decent substitute for the Captain. Well, better than the autopilot, anyway.  
For now, she turns a wry smile to the other woman.  
“Is this how you treat all your students?”

Bery leans back against Lenorr’s chest, stroking a hand along one of her lover’s arms.  
“Not really but, I also don’t think I’ve ever had one before.”  
She tilts her head, eyes turned out through the window and the blue shimmering mess of hyperspace.  
“Huh, I guess that makes you my first. My…apprentice, one might say.”

The smirk she aims at Lenorr makes her seem just way too satisfied with herself than she deserves. The twi’lek even wiggles her eyebrows, nudging Lenorr very close to a laugh.  
“I’m _not_ calling you ‘master', just so you know.”

“Why not? It’d be really hot.”

Instead of saying anything more, the Sith lifts her partner up, turning her around and making Bery straddle her so that she can fully pull her Captain into another kiss, this one more eager than previously. At least, that’s what Bery assumes with the hands squeezing her ass so tightly.  
Perhaps further instructions will have to wait a few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I wasn't sure if I should've used another word than "aphrodisiac" but, none that I could think of fit into what Bery wanted to say. I'll just leave it like that, I think._   
>  _I have another chapter planned with these two in a few weeks but, there'll be some other (secondary) characters involved._
> 
> _Heading to Cierah next time, though._


	26. Narrow offers (IA)

Letting out another sigh in irritation, Cierah lets her hand fly across the panel next to the exit hatch of her ship, opening it up and steps out as it unfolds before her. She doesn’t really have time for this type of nonsense, but Kaliyo had apparently insisted that there was something of vital importance that she needed to see. Knowing the rattataki, it’s probably something either ridiculous or completely frivolous. They have better things to do than play around in the middle of nowhere, or at least Cierah does.  
Currently, they’ve chosen to lay low on one of the neutral Outer Rim worlds, far away from the eyes of most major factions. The galaxy is a big place and it’s not difficult to hide if one knows where to go and even without the Black Codex, Cierah has become quite adapt at such maneuvers. However, staying hidden also requires not running around everywhere upon the world you’re staying on and not causing trouble. Both of these are factors that Kaliyo tends to fail with. 

The group have rented a hangar outside a medium sized town on this world and close to the entrance, which currently stands open, Cierah spots a cobalt blue air speeder with silver stripes along the roof. It looks quite slick and fashionable in a way, which makes the agent feel that it’s either been borrowed or, possibly even more likely, stolen.  
Seeing as how Kaliyo is situated on the left side of the vehicle, behind the wheel, she approaches that door. She waits to speak until their eyes have met and Kaliyo pulls down the window.  
“You wanted to talk?”

The rattaki looks amused, and a small smirk spreads across her lips.  
“You like my ride?”

Cierah gives it another glance, but she doesn’t look any more impressed the second time than the first.  
“Where did you steal it?”

“Who said I stole it?”

“I know you. You wouldn’t spend credits on this type of vessel, as you’re likely to trash it at some point.”

“Pft.”  
She doesn’t actually try to argue however, but instead lifts up her hand and points her thumb at the seat next to her.  
“C’mon, have a seat and let’s chat.”

Turning her gaze back to Kaliyo, she frowns slightly.  
“Why? I’m right here. We can speak this way as well, can’t we?”

“We can, but I want you to get in.”

“You didn’t answer the first question. I don’t see why I should.”

Kaliyo rolls her eyes and taps her hand at the seat next to her.  
“Stop being so ridiculously suspicious and get in. If you know me so well, you’d know that it’s not exactly dangerous to sit in a speeder with me.”

“On the contrary, I’m certain it is because I’m very well acquainted with your skills, or lack thereof.”  
Seeing as how Kaliyo doesn’t intend to continue their conversation until she does, Cierah eventually walks around the vehicle and gets in through the other side. There are backseats in here too, but they’re currently empty. At least the two front seats are fairly soft and comfortable, made in a smooth black color. 

A few seconds after she enters and closes the door, she hears how the locking mechanism is engaged as well. Certainly doesn’t do much to bring her ease, nor does it help when Kaliyo ignites the engine, allowing them to ascend into the air and then speed off out of the hangar. At least the rattataki is a fairly decent driver, so she easily avoids the tall trees just outside, putting them in an altitude a few meters above the forest. Far ahead of them stretches a few miles of greenery and the occasional hill poking up in between.  
“You know what I’ve noticed lately? There’s something wrong with you. Like, troubling. You’re agitated, irritable and dismissive. You wanna know why?”

She wouldn’t say that’s entirely new either. Cierah has shown similar traits previously, though would not admit it.  
She plants her elbow against some kind of rest that is attached to the door and leans her head against her closed fist.  
“Well, at this moment, it’s probably due to the fact that I allowed myself to be locked inside a high-speed vehicle, hundreds of meters in the air, with a notorious anarchist maniac.”

Kaliyo smirks, but doesn’t respond immediately to the taunt.  
“It’s because you keep focusing on that spy shit all the time. You never take a break, even to the point that some of us have had to tell you to stop and get something to eat. In fact, it was Raina who called you ‘agitated’, but I think I prefer the term ‘tense as fuck’ instead.  
What you need to do is unwind. And that’s what I’m here to help you with.”

She groans and shuts her eye. How could she not have seen this coming?  
“You are going to help me?”

“That’s right.”

“This is ridiculous. I’m not overworked, no matter what you say. Turn the speeder back around and get me back into the ship.”

Kaliyo snickers slightly, finding her protests amusing.  
“Nope, not gonna happen, agent. You and me are gonna do something…interesting.”

Cierah exhales in annoyance, shaking her head.  
“And what would that be?”

“Well, I actually had to think about that for a couple of days. It took a while to decide and I had to go through several suggestions. From myself, that is.  
At first, I wondered if it was best to just find a way to get you laid.”

Of course, that would be her first thought.  
“Kaliyo…”

“Yeah, I know. Couldn’t get ahold of your mando wife, so that wasn’t a great option.”

“We’re not married.” 

“Whatever. Anyway, couldn’t help that way as she’s out of reach or something, so I had to find other ways to appease you.”

Cierah slowly shifts her head in order to look at Kaliyo with her one eye. Seeing as how it’s on the right side, she has to turn a bit extra.  
“I do not wish to have sex with you, Kaliyo.”

Kaliyo meets that gaze with a smug one of her own.  
“Pft, bullshit.”  
Cierah’s eye narrows and they stare at one another for a few seconds, before Kaliyo watches the area in front of them once more.  
“Ah, c’mon, don’t look at me like that. It was a joke! It’s not like I want you either, hardass.” 

Words spoken rather casually, but Cierah can sense the lie underneath. While she’s never said it out loud, she knows that her partner has been attracted to her for quite some time. Kaliyo has never explicitly acted upon it though, which she finds interesting. Of course, that’s how she first got together with Jovana and while it wasn’t just the mandalorian’s behavior which drew her attention, she will admit it was part of the appeal. She can’t say for sure if it would’ve been the same with Kaliyo.  
“If you say so.”

“Right, good. Like I said, I had to find something else, so I started weighing my options. Getting you a prostitute was certainly up there.”

Cierah gives her a skeptical look.  
“Excuse me? I would never pay for sex.”

“Heh, too good for it?”

“I don’t need to.”

Her confidence makes Kaliyo smirks, but she continues.  
“Well, there was also this strip club I heard about in the nearest city a few miles away…”

“No. That is degrading.” 

“…I thought of finding us some shit to blow up…”

“Ugh. I’m not you. I don't need a constant violent outlet.”

Kaliyo chuckles shortly.  
“And then I also heard about some interesting hunting plains to the north.”

“I’m not a mandalorian.”

“And yet you sleep with one.”

Cierah rolls her eye, rather unimpressed with such logic.  
“Yes, because I am attracted to her. Doesn’t mean I want to be like her.”

It’s not often that they speak so candidly about these things, which Kaliyo actually likes. Well, Cierah isn’t a prude but, she rarely has time to discuss these topics in general.  
“And that’s when I had another idea. It’s where we’re going right now.”

The agent tries to search her mind for the correct answer, wondering what it might be. The violence, sex and practical activities were pretty obvious and probably what she had expected to be the conclusion, but if it’s neither of those things, then where are they actually going?  
“No hints?”

“Nope. You’re just gonna have to sit there and wait. Isn’t this exciting, huh?”

She’s not going to relent and show any sort of interest but, it is certainly intriguing.  
At least another hour go by and while they do occasionally talk to one another, mostly about what Cierah would deem as unnecessary subjects, she can see that they make progress below. Signs of civilization appears here and there, from towns, villages and even some farms. It’s when they approach a larger city however, that the speeder begins to slow down and Kaliyo takes them downwards to an area on the outskirts of this settlement.  
They land outside a building, with text written on the outside that she can identify as Huttese. That language is certainly more common than Basic in this region of space. She’s well-versed in that tongue as well though, but she can’t figure out why they would be landing outside of a pet store. Are they going on a hunt after all? Seems like a weird one if they actually buy the prey first.  
As they step out of the vessel, she sends Kaliyo a slight frown.  
“I know it may seem as if I have no standards sometimes, but I’m not going to help you blow up an innocent animal.”

At the suggestion, even Kaliyo looks surprised.  
“…what? You really think I’m _that_ heartless?”

“Yes.”

“Tsk. Well, maybe I am a cold piece of shit, but only when there’s profit or actual fun involved. Just shooting random domestic pets isn’t much of either.”

“Then…what are we doing here?”

Kaliyo appears smug once more and motions for her to follow.  
“You’ll see. C’mon.”

They approach the store and as they enter, there’s currently no other customers inside. It’s rather early in the day and not a lot of people are out on the streets, at least not in this district. They walk past the shelves and tables filled with equipment and food made for pets and instead continue further back. Behind it, they spot a blue-skinned rodian, with dark red eyes. He seemed to be working on a terminal when they entered, but he turns and inclines his head when they come closer, speaking in Huttese.  
“Welcome to the Joyful Companions pet store. May I help-“  
He halts in the middle of the sentence and then tilts his head when seeing Kaliyo.  
“Oh, wait. We’ve met before, yes?”

She nods, putting her hands at her hips. Cierah folds her arms in the meantime, still seeming quite skeptical.  
“That’s right. I’m here to collect what I purchased.”

He looks momentarily uncertain, but nods.  
“And you are…aware of the hazards, yes?”

“Yeah, yeah, just take us to it, and we’ll sort things out.”

As the rodian gestures for a door that leads to the back, Cierah slowly angles her head in Kaliyo’s direction.  
“…hazards?”

“Bah, don’t worry. He’s just a bit skittish, that’s all. Probably afraid of people asking for refunds or whatever.”

“And what is it that you’ve bought that may be deemed as a danger?”

Kaliyo displays a small grin to her now as they follow the shopkeeper.  
“Well, after thinking about it for a while, I figured that maybe you’re not actually interested in anything so…exciting as my previous ideas. I figured, maybe you’re just lonely, you know? I mean, while Jovana isn’t around.”

“Kaliyo…no….”

“Oh yes. After seeing it on the HoloNet, I found the perfect gift. We’re here to fix you some company!”

Cierah sighs heavily, practically groaning before she’s even seen it.  
“Kaliyo, I can’t take care of a bloody pet. Where would we fit it?”

“You haven’t seen it yet! Trust me, it’ll be fine.”

The room they enter have cages for a numerous amount of avian species, most of them with feathers. While some seems to be in pairs or even several more in the same cage, the one they approach just has a single occupant. It’s a rather big compartment as well, where a creature somewhat larger than the rest sits and immediately stares at them the closer they get.  
The feathers on the creature are mostly different shades of grey, except for a few lines of black here and there. The eyes however, are large and bright orange with round black pupils. Its beak isn’t all too prominent, but it has a set of ridges that reaches up from just above the eyes, all the way to the top of its head, almost as if it has a set of quite large eyebrows that seem to frown. It doesn’t make any noise, but does occasionally twist its head to the side, to get a different view.

Cierah looks even more skeptical than she did before.  
“…a bird?”

The rodian clears his throat and steps aside so he doesn’t stand in the way.  
“This is a Halcyon crown owl. I had it imported a few months ago, as I had a buyer who was very interested in getting more unusual species into her collection but…apparently, they did not get along. You see, it can be rather aggressive with strangers, especially if they do not connect.”

Not feeling all too enthusiastic with those words, Cierah turns back to her companion.  
_“This_ is what you thought would help calm me down? An animal that will attempt to kill me?”

Kaliyo shrugs.  
“Meh, I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s not that dangerous.”

“It looks like a predator to me. And won’t it need a lot of space regardless?”

The shopkeeper shakes his head briefly.  
“Not exactly. It does occasionally need to fly around a bit but, if you have a moderately large ship, which remains open, it should be enough for its daily exercise. Occasionally, you may need to stop by a planet to give it a chance to fly around, however.”

Kaliyo nods, seeming rather pleased with herself for whatever reason.  
“Tell her why it’s not that risky.”

“Eh, well, that is entirely up to the individual. You see, the people of Halcyon and other nearby colonies among the Republic, has occasionally used them to bond with. They’re known for being quick to connect with a partner of other species, for mutual benefits such as security, warmth and access to food. It can be very…picky with the individual it chooses, however. Some are still uncertain how or why they make their selections as they do.”

“See? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.”

Cierah exhales heavily.  
“And why would I even want a pet? Do you know how often I’m busy with all the tasks we need to perform?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I know and that’s because you never allow yourself to relax. This is the perfect distraction for you!  
Besides, look at it. Doesn’t it remind you of someone?”

Doing as she’s asked, she peers over at the owl, who seems to look at her in return. When she frowns, it almost seems to do so as well.  
“No, it does not.”

The rattataki grins once more and pats her shoulder.  
“No? Want me to spell it out for ya? It’s constantly grumpy, it stares at people, it’s eerily quiet, it’ll bite if you’re not careful.”

“Ha ha. Very funny, Kaliyo.”  
Her voice is even and thoroughly unamused.

Her partner disagrees and laughs to herself, before pointing at the cage.  
“Hey, let the owl out and give us a chance to see how it goes.”

The rodian hesitates somewhat.  
“Uh, you mean…right now? I think that would be rather unsafe, when there are so many other pets around here. I mean, it might become unnerved and-“

Groaning annoyedly, she moves up towards it instead.  
“Ugh, fine, let me do it then, you coward. Move aside.”

Not that he was standing in the way to begin with, but he certainly doesn’t do it now either. Kaliyo lifts her hand up to the door of the cage and unhooks it, before opening it widely. She takes a few steps back afterwards, while the rodian quickly retreats to the back of the room. Cierah just stands where she is however, arms somewhat crossed.  
The owl continues to stare at the agent for several moments, but then finally notices how its cage is open. It tilts its head from side to side for a moment and then bends down and launches itself forward. Stopping for a second by the entrance, it then leans down and flaps its wings, dampening the fall to the ground. It’s not tall, that’s for sure, probably around half a meter, but it’s wing span appears to be much broader and not to mention the long and sharp talons one can spot beneath, makes it clear that it’s not exactly defenseless. 

After examining its surroundings, the owl immediately glances back up at Cierah, as if it had been waiting to face her again. The agent arches an eyebrow but doesn’t really react much otherwise. It takes a few steps forward, seemingly without difficulty and then suddenly flaps its wings more fiercely, trying to get up into the air, or more specifically, to Cierah. As she’s a few meters away, it has enough time to twist around it push its talons onto her, but not to damage her. In fact, it attempts to attach itself to her and then use both the talons and the beak to climb upwards. She’s surprised but offers her arm to help it, which it accepts and instead attaches itself there. After she holds it up, it doesn’t move from this location, looking around to watch the other avian creatures, as well as the humanoids with suspicion. 

It’s not just the agent who looks surprised, but both the rodian and Kaliyo as well.  
“Wow, that was…quick.”

The shopkeeper inclines his head, eyes widened.  
“I-indeed. In fact, it was quite marvelous. I’ve never actually witnessed a bonding happening before, but this was very fascinating.”

Cierah watches the owl sitting so content on her arm and moves a hand to pat its feathers on the back of its head. It studies her at first before half-closing its eyes, likely in approval. She breathes out, and then turns to look at Kaliyo.  
“Well, I suppose I have no choice now. I accept your gift.”

Kaliyo chuckles and nods excitedly.  
“Knew you would. Figured you two would get along quite well. What are you gonna call it?”

“I shall have to give it some thought, but I’m sure I can think of something. And no, I want no suggestions from you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, I've thought of a name for her already. Don't worry, it'll be funny. Probably._


	27. For clan, for family (BH)

While slowing down her pace, she tries to focus on the voice that blares out of some speakers in the hangar, but to no avail. The mando’a coming from the presumably automated voice is spoken way too quickly for Jovana to be able to follow. Not that she expects them to accommodate her but, would’ve been nice to see if she could understand it. If this facility comes under fire, it’s fun to know that she’ll have no clue when it happens.  
She starts walking quicker again, approaching one of the doors that leads to another area within her current location. Looking to her side, by one of the walls, she can see a huge shimmering blue light, coming from the hangar’s force field. It’s odd to think that there are mandalorian space stations, although she doesn’t know why that would be weird. Perhaps because she thinks of her people mostly just as hunters or warriors. But they have a variety of huge ships and starfighters, so why would they not have space stations too?

All she knows of this particular place is that there are currently several clans gathered, as they’re stationed in a system somewhere in between the Outer and Mid Rim. Jovana herself was on her way with the Blood Fist towards Dromund Kaas, but after one of their hyperspace jumps they heard about this station being here, so she figured it might be worth it to come for a visit, even if it’d be a detour. Because none of the rest of her crew wanted to join, they dropped her off and decided to head elsewhere for the duration of her stay. She entrusted Mako and Torian with the ship and she has confidence in them both. There’s Skadge who might cause some trouble, but they can likely handle it.

Once she’s fairly close to the exit, it slides open before she gets there and another individual joins her in the hangar. She smiles when she spots him, as he’s part of the reason that she came here.  
A rather large dark green-scaled trandoshan, in heavy brown armor, walks up to her. He’s got a very visible facial scar at the lower end of his jaw and a brass metal ring in his nose. His yellow eyes meet hers and he inclines his head.  
Neeraka from clan Lok, her own mando clan. She hadn’t spoken of her arrival, but did give him a prior warning a few hours ago, that she would be coming in at some point.  
When they’re right in front of each other, the lift their arms and bump their wrists, or bracers rather, together in a greeting. She has to look up somewhat, as he’s at least a head taller.

The trandoshan pats her shoulder as well.  
“It’s good to see you, ner vod. You’re not here often enough.”

His voice is deep, more so than most her crew, but she believes that has more to do with his species vocal cords than anything else.  
“Su cuy’gar, Neeraka.”

He emits some kind of noise, like a hiss, which she assumes is of an amused nature, seeing as how he seems to smirk.  
“What’s this, huh? Have you been practicing with Torian?” 

Jov returns a similar expression and folds her arms.  
“Well, a little bit. He’s doing his best, even if I’m not a great student.”

“You almost had the pronunciation right, so he’s doing a good job.”  
He spares the room a quick glance.  
“Can’t see the kid here, though.”

“Yeah, he didn’t wanna join me this time. I think he may have felt like he was in the way or something. Or maybe he’s not as comfortable with our clan, I dunno.”

Neeraka shrugs.  
“Oh well, that’s his problem, then.”  
As they begin walking once more, he raises a hand to bump his fist at her shoulder.  
“So, how have you been?”

Jov takes a deep breath and emits it into a slow sigh.  
“I gotta admit, haven’t been the best of times lately.”

“What, not reveling in your position as a Grand Champion?”

She smirks and shakes her head.  
“I would have, if the galaxy hadn’t been hunting me so much, after that bounty was up for such a long damn time.”

“I thought that business was dealt with already. Or at least Mandalore told us as much.”

“True, but we weren’t sure if the Empire would strike back at us for it. Me and the crew decided to lay low for quite a while, as we waited to see what would happen.  
Turns out it was kinda unnecessary, as they offered us another contract with them. Or well, at least resume the one we already had.”

“Heh, didn’t care that you killed one of their own, eh?”

Jov smiles and raises a hand to poke at her cheek.  
“Yeah, seems Sith don’t care much if you kill their rivals, especially if they’re dangerous ones.”

“But I thought you worked for the guy you killed? Who will you be doing hunts for now?”

“Malgus, one of the new Dark Councilors.”

Neeraka snorts and bumps his shoulder at her arm.  
“Taking credits from the top now, eh? Guess you’ve earned that much. I’m glad you’re back on track, regardless.”

“As am I. Sitting around for that long doing nothing was boring as shit. I think it’s time to get back into the action!  
But enough about me, what are you guys doing out here? Is this the mandalorian staging ground for assaults on the Republic or what?”

The laugh he emits is something in between that kind of noise, together with a hiss. After that, he grins, showing his sharp fangs to her.  
“Nope, it isn’t. I don’t really wanna spoil the fun though, so you’ll have to wait and see until we get to the others.”

Jovana hasn’t had much time to meet with her clan since she joined them after the Great Hunt over a year ago, but there have been a few occasions where she’s taken the chance to do so.  
The biggest reason for this, is probably because most of them have accepted her very quickly. It is like their saying goes – family is more than blood, and they showed that to her in a way that made her feel welcome, as if she’s a part of something.  
Neeraka had been the first friend she made though and the two of them have conversed through mails every now and then, sometimes sharing images of honorable kills. When she went after the targets on the Blacklist, she couldn’t help but send proof to him, which did impress him and made him wish he had been there with her. Unfortunately, he’s too attached to his clan to leave their side and go off on his own. Doesn’t mind if she prefers it that way, though. First time they met, he actually offered Mako to join their clan as well, but she declined.

While they leave the contained areas for ships, they take an elevator up and soon enter more suitable quarters for gatherings. They enter halls with a lot of mandalorians from various clans, many of them talking, drinking, gambling or sparring. High upon the walls, she can spot skulls of beasts or trophies from other different impressive kills adorning almost every room. And, not to forget, the typical symbol so often used by mandalorians, can also be seen etched into different sections.  
In a way, it almost reminds her of some of the establishments she used to visit on Nar Shaddaa, just a lot more armors and a lot less couples having sex in the corners. In fact, it appears like most mandos prefer to keep that sort of thing in private, even in big gatherings like these.  
Of course, there’s far from only humans here, just like when she visited Mandalore’s ship. She sees a lot of houk, chagrians, zabrak, cathar, trandoshans and more. Although, it seems humans are still the most populous. 

Neeraka takes her to a specific hallway, which removes them from most of the festivities and they enter a set of living quarters, or a hangout area in between them. In here, they spot several sofas, a few holoprojectors, terminals, crates, weapons and not to forget, bottles and cans of liquor.  
Jov recognizes the men and women in here as her other Lok brothers and sisters. They’re about as diverse as any other mando clan.  
None of them seem to notice at first, until Neeraka speaks up.  
“Hey, look who I found.”

All of the eyes in the pretty spacious area, turns and sets upon them. Probably at least two dozen or so just in this room. A few seconds later, most of them rises and express various smiles and grins.  
“Ner vod!”

“Champion, good to see you!”

They give her similar greetings as Neeraka did and Jov does her best to keep up. A fair-skinned male human with short black hair, stands at the very front once they’ve all calmed down. She recognizes him as one of those she’s gotten along with as well – Tendarr. It’s usually either him or Neeraka who tend to lead hunting parties when Mandalore isn’t around.  
“Didn’t think you’d pop in for a visit, Vlasic. Haven’t forgotten about your clan yet, eh?”

She arches a brow questioningly while he grins.  
“How could I ever forget about this group of great bastards?”

Most of them begins to laugh, with Neeraka displaying a small smile of his own. He remains by her side while she speaks with Tendarr.  
“Did you hear anything of the latest ‘offers’ that came your way?”

“Offers?”

“Yep. We received messages with marriage proposals from both clan Fett and Beroya. Seems there’s a few men and women who think you’d make an excellent partner.”

She can’t help but laugh at that, and many of the group seems to find it just as amusing.  
“Sorry, I don’t tend to marry fans. Besides, I’m already taken.”

“Tsk, the Champion already breaking hearts, huh? You can be cruel, Vlasic!”

Jov rolls her eyes at his humor.  
“Anyway, what are you guys doing here? I thought you’d be out fighting the war with Mandalore.”

“Oh, we are, but we’ve got some stuff to take care of close to this system. Didn’t Neeraka tell you?”

Jov turns to look at the trandoshan who folds his arms.  
“I wanted to give you guys that honor. It’s better if she finds out while everyone is gathered.”

It’s clear that not all of clan Lok are present here, as many are still with Mandalore, but they do have a lot of capable warriors.  
“Alright, guess I’ll do it for ya, then. We’re going after the Jat’kar’aliye.”

Taking a few moments to absorb the word and the possible meaning, she can’t think of anything that would resemble a translation.  
“The jat-what?”

He starts to smirk a bit wider. The rest of the clan sit down on the sofas and crates once more, while he remains standing.  
“It means ‘Sunder the earth undivided’. Although, the imps and reps tends to call them ‘core burrowers’, even if that’s kind of lacking.”

“Huh. Never heard of that word either. What are they?”

Tendarr gestures for her to come with him as he approaches a holoprojector and switches it on. An image of a long and thin creature appears. Its head is rather large, consisting mostly of what seems to be a big mouth with many razor-sharp fangs.  
“This hologram doesn’t do it justice, because it’s humongous. Tens of meters long, sometimes hundreds, depending on the age. These things get very old and very rarely come up to the surface. It’s quite a spectacle when they do.  
You see it’s body? Looks like scales, right? Those things are sturdy like armor on a fucking ship. It has very few weak points and not only that, it also spits acid so dangerous that it might kill you without proper and immediate treatment.”

Jov stares at it for a few moments, feeling both a sense of fear somewhere deep inside and utter fascination that evolves into excitement.  
“And it lives around here?”

“Yep, or two star systems away, actually. But we’re going after one. The scanners on that world have been picking up seismic movement and it seems like a few will be popping up very soon.  
You wanna join?”

She turns to gaze at him.  
“On your suicide hunt?”

He grins back.  
“It’s not suicide if you know what you’re doing.”

“Hah, yeah, you’re probably right. How long will this take, though?”

Neeraka responds for Tendarr, before he tries to exaggerate.  
“A few days, most likely. We’re leaving pretty soon, but tracking those things and actually managing to kill them, isn’t a quick process.”

She nods, understanding the difficulty in taking down a prey like this. Watching the hologram again, she’d love to give it a try, but knows it’s not that easy either.  
“I dunno. I mean, it’d be pretty awesome but, I’m also expected at Dromund Kaas in a few days.”

At that, she can hear several people muttering or leaving complaints. Clearly, they don’t want her to leave. Tendarr pats her shoulder as well.  
“Come on now, you can spare a few days, can’t ya? We hardly ever see you around here and we’d love to watch how a proper bounty hunter would handle one of the most dangerous prey in the galaxy.”

It’s kind of a cheap attempt at trying to pull her in, but not completely worthless. Hunting with her clan would be a very enjoyable experience, but can she really screw up this opportunity with the Empire?  
She looks at Tendarr, then at several more of the mandalorians, some of them almost appearing to plead with her, and lastly at Neeraka. The trandoshan just inclines his head, as if that’s all she needs.  
After emitting a heavy sigh, she shakes her head.  
“Well…I guess they might understand that this is an important cultural thing, so…”

Before she has even finished her sentence, they erupt in cheers. Well then, seems she has agreed to it, whether she has fully decided or not.  
While Tendarr moves off to get her a drink, another door opens up to the side and someone else enters the room.  
The person that joins them is pretty short, possibly equal to Mako’s size. The difference is, this one has light green skin, a few striped black square markings over her cheeks, forehead and chin, and short brown hair, with most of it leaning to one side. It’s the first mirialan that Jov has seen among her clan, although she obviously hasn’t met all of them yet. 

The woman, or possibly closer to a teenager, wanders in as if to see what all the commotion is about, before she spots Jov and widens her eyes, practically in shock.  
“Whoa…the…the Champion.” 

Jov places one hand at her hip and gestures with the other.  
“Yep, that’s me. Don’t think I’ve seen you before, though.”  
She eyes the younger lady, or specifically, her purple outfit.  
“By the look of your armor, you’re mando too.”

Tendarr and the others have spotted her as well, but only smile at her approach.  
“Oh, that’s Vyrix, one of our youngest warriors. Got through her trials just a year ago or so. You wanna come and say hello?”

She ignores him and instead concentrates on Jov, as she comes closer. Eventually, she shapes her hand into a fist and pushes it to her chest, in some kind of salute.  
“It’s…it’s an honor to meet you, Champion. I’ve heard loads of tales about your exploits.” 

Jov raises an eyebrow, feeling a little bit surprised.  
“Tales, huh? Didn’t know they made those kinds of things about me. I mean, it’s not like it was decades ago.”

Neeraka emits another hiss-infused laugh.  
“Legends grow fast, you should know that.”

Vyrix smiles widely, her blue eyes almost shimmering in delight.  
“It’s so exciting to finally meet you in person. I have so many questions.”

It seems pretty clear to Jov that this girl is more than just a clan member – she’s a fan, apparently. She’s met a few of those in the past, but none have expressed such emotions among the mandalorians. Well, not this explicitly, at least. She doesn’t want to seem like some distant star however and raises her arm.  
“Well hey, let’s meet properly, shall we?”

The mirialan blinks in confusion at first, but then returns the gesture and they bump their bracers together.  
“T-thank you.”

Jov smiles at Vyrix’s shy exterior, giving her side a friendly poke.  
“No need to be embarrassed or whatever. I’m just a mando, like you.”

Vyrix looks down at the ground.  
“I don’t think you’re like me…I mean, you’re a true warrior and your legend is growing. I’ve read everything about you, seen all the vids. The stuff you do is amazing.”

Jov chuckles gently and places two fingers under Vyrix’s chin to raise it up.  
“Well, I’d prefer to be a person, rather than some figure from a story. The stuff I’ve done is not as outlandish as what you might imagine. I just know how to fight, that’s all.”

“More so than most, or so they say.”  
Tendarr smirks and takes a swig of his drink right after.

She rolls her eyes once more.  
“Don’t listen to him. I mean, I know what I’m doing, but I can’t say I’ve done stuff that no one else in the galaxy could.”

The mirialan surveys her with interest, sparing a glance for the revolver-shaped blasters.  
“Isn’t it true that you’ve killed both Jedi and Sith single-handedly, though?”

Jov lifts a hand to scratch her neck a bit.  
“Uhh…well, sort of. I’m not sure it was ‘single-handedly’, since I did have a partner or two, depending on which fight you’re talking about. Helped to keep me alive.”

“How did you do it, then? I mean, can’t they both deflect all shots with their lightsabers?”

“Meh, they’re not as tough as they seem. When fighting either of them, you just gotta think outside of the blaster and get creative. Explosives, flamethrower, fists and feet, even the scenery can be used to make them unstable. Their Force thing isn’t infallible, really. Although, I’d recommend not going at it alone.”

The others appear amused at what she says, as she sort of ends up bragging anyhow.  
Vyrix smiles at her, seeming encouraged by Jov’s words.  
“I’ll keep that advice in mind if I ever get into trouble with them.”

“You should, but my advice is to get some practice against other dangerous foes first.”

When Vyrix’s eyes wander further up, something else gets her attention.  
“Ever since I first saw your image, I’ve been wondering what your facial marking is. I mean, it’s not like mine but, still rather impressive.”

Instinctively, Jov runs a finger along the tattoo that adorns most of her right cheek, making images of the past flash through her mind.  
“Ah, that would be the logo for the Twisted Talon gang on Nar Shaddaa. It was the street gang I was a member of the longest, back in my days on that sludge ball.”

“Was there anything special with them?”

She shrugs briefly.  
“Nah, not really. Wasn’t even my first gang, nor were they the ones who taught me how to fight, but they were certainly a good bunch. I liked ‘em and one of my oldest friends used to be a member too.”

Vyrix smiles, wondering if the Champion may have some rather good memories from that time.  
“Where are they now? Still on Nar Shaddaa?”

The sigh Jov emits is short, and probably doesn’t reveal as much of her emotions as she certainly carries.  
“Nope. Most of them are dead by now, except for that friend I mentioned. They got us into a fight with the Exchange, who obviously won and then tried to wipe us all out. Me and one or two others were the only survivors.”

The room gets quiet at that point and the young mirialan looks saddened, almost embarrassed.  
“I uh, I’m sorry for asking.”

“It’s alright. It was a long time ago.”

Despite that the situation appears to get awkward, Neeraka quite easily defuses it.  
“Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’la.”

The rest of the mandalorians, even Vyrix, joins in with the same words. Jov doesn’t understand the words, but she does comprehend the sentiment and inclines her head in thanks to him.  
“So, kid, are you going with us on the hunt as well?”

She appears uncertain at the question, scratching the armor above her other arm.  
“I dunno. I want to but, I’m not sure that I’m ready.”

“Why wouldn’t you be? You went through your trials to be accepted as a warrior, right?”

“I did, but this hunt is…different.”

Jov isn’t the best person when it comes to help raise people’s spirits, and she doesn’t know Vyrix enough to actually make a good assessment whether she would be useful in this hunt. Once more, Neeraka offers his aid.  
“Well then, how about you fly with the two of us?”

The mirialan looks up at the much taller trandoshan, displaying her astonishment.  
“Me, with you two? Do you really want to have me along?”

“Why not? If nothing else, you’d stand to learn from two experienced hunters, and share of our glory in battle. You got any complaints, Jovana?”

Jov grins and places a hand on Vyrix’s back, encouraging her to come closer.  
“Not at all. How else do you intend to learn how to fight like us, eh?”

Vyrix looks between them, sparing a glance at both. Shortly thereafter, her lips spreads into another eager smile.  
“I…I’d love to! And I promise to do my very best. I won’t dishonor you, I swear.”

“Then let’s go get us some meat off that bastard, or whatever you guys intend to do with it afterwards.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, I basically just stole the concept of a thresher maw. I'm not actually going to write that hunt, but it was funny to make that reference._
> 
> _I have two Reezah chapters for the next two weeks. Just so you know!_


	28. Past judgement (Tr)

The air speeder slows down upon its descent, aiming towards the parking platform situated fairly close to their destination - an estate within one of the higher levels of Coruscant. Once it lands, Reezah and Elara both get out of their seats and takes a few steps away to assess themselves. Neither of them are in armor, but as per the XO’s suggestion, the Major decided to wear a uniform at the very least. The cobalt blue and white colors aren’t all too bad, but the outfit itself isn’t very comfortable either. Weird how she can feel better in her armor, which is much heavier.

Elara turns her eyes towards Reezah as she sees how the togruta grimaces and squirms a bit.  
“What’s wrong?”

“It’s these…stupid clothes. They’re so tight.”

The Captain is wearing something similar, not because she wished for them to match one another, but rather that it’s what she feels should be expected from army officers. She does give Reezah a sympathetic smile, however.  
“Did I not tell you to get it one size larger?”

“But this has always been my size…”

“Has it? When was the last time you wore a uniform?”

She opens her mouth, but quickly has to shut it again. When she thinks about it, she tends to wear the armor during most of the military gatherings she attends. Even while she was called in to meet with the Senate, she decided to dress in a casual manner.  
“That’s a good point. Why _are_ we wearing uniforms? We’re not even in her office.”

“If you wish, I could quote regulation 37-D, section 175-14 alpha, which explains all the situations where officers are supposed to be properly dressed when in the presence of superiors. Even more so in regards to the Supreme Chancellor.”

“We’ve met with her two or three times by now and each occasion, we’ve been in armor.”

Elara shows her a smile that Reezah would almost describe as sly.  
“I did not feel it was appropriate at that time to intervene. I expected your judgement to be sufficient.”  
She closes the distance between them and eyes her beloved. Hands strokes down across Reezah’s chest, feeling the firm body beneath the clothes.  
“Besides, you look great in this outfit.”

One of Reezah’s tattooed eyebrows slowly rises as she looks at Elara skeptically.  
“Wait a second, is this why you forced me into this? Because you wanted to see me in uniform?”

“I did not explicitly say that.” The smile seems to stay intact. “But, if I did, would you deny me the visual pleasure?”

Giving in, the Major sighs and returns a similar expression as she strokes a hand up to Elara’s cheek.  
“…dammit. Fine, you win.”

Elara playfully runs a finger across Reezah’s chest.  
“Don’t I always?”

Rolling her eyes, Reezah turns her sight towards the other vehicles, noticing that there’s definitely more than one parked here.  
“Huh. Looks like we might not be the only guests.”

Following where she’s pointed to, the Captain inclines her head somewhat.  
“Or maybe the Chancellor merely has more than one vehicle?”

“Sounds like a waste of tax credits, but I guess I’m not a politician.”

“Let us proceed inside and ask her directly, then.”

They turn and start walking across the open platform, moving over a small bridge that goes above a stream of water which runs beneath it and then follows a lined path made of red rock, that takes them to the entrance. By the doors, they can see a few armed droids standing guards, but they do not attempt to stop the two soldiers when they aim to enter. In fact, once they go past the doors, they see a few more droids who welcomes them inside. It appears these ones are ready act as guides through the estate to where Saresh is waiting.

However, on the path up they’re met by a different face, which neither of them can say that they’ve encountered before.  
Another togruta, with a somewhat brighter red complexion than Reezah, as well as smaller and less pronounced white lines across her nose, lower lip and at the edge of her face, comes wandering down the stairs. Her montrals and lekkus share colors with the Major as well, but the white appears to be more dominant. She is shorter than both of the soldiers and from the look of her clothing, likely not in the army either.

Her eyes meet theirs before she walks all the way down and she waves at them, with a wry smile on her lips.  
“Well well, if it isn’t Havoc. Thought you two would arrive soon enough. Guess I was right on time.”

The soldiers share a quick look, before Reezah arches a questioning brow in the togruta’s direction when she’s reaches the bottom of the stairs.  
“Uh, do we know you?”

“Nope, not yet. Maybe you will in the future.”

“Why would we want to?”

“Depends how much you’re interested in credits, my tall friend.”  
She digs her hand down beneath the top of her shirt, and pulls out some kind of thin metal piece which she offers to Reezah.  
“Oh yeah, the Supreme grump should be done by now. She’s all yours.”

The other togruta turns and leaves before they can ask her any further questions, waltzing out with confident steps. The soldiers are left in confusion as they check the note they were given.  
“The Outer Artisan Water Association?”

Reezah glances at Elara who merely shrugs.  
“…I have no idea.”

“Well uh, let’s go see the Chancellor, I guess.”

Once they’re led up the stairs and towards the correct door, they see how Saresh is already standing within the room they find her. She’s dressed in a violet and black stripped suit, which she’s currently correcting and she seems a bit surprised as the two arrivals enter.  
“Oh…hello Major, Captain. You’re early.”

“Uh, I thought we came when we were supposed to. Didn’t know you had company.”

“Well, she was supposed to leave before you arrived.”

“Who was that?”

Saresh clears her throat and corrects her lekku’s placement, apparently making sure there’s no signs of disturbance on them.  
“No one special. Just…an associate.”

Reezah and Elara shares another skeptical gaze.  
“Uh-huh.”

“Anyhow, you’re here now, shall we get to business? Have a seat, if you wish.”

The room has fairly large windows which seems to have had the curtains rather hurriedly pulled open before they entered. A transparent glass table stands in the middle of a three-sided square sofa and the two take a seat at one side, while Saresh gets the other.  
“You wanted to talk to us about a mission or…something like that?”

Saresh inclines her head and dismisses the droids with a wave of her hand. She doesn’t speak until the door is shut.  
“That’s right. I know it may seem strange that I asked you to come to my private quarters but, it is the only secured area where I know we won’t be overheard and which still won’t seem too…suspicious.”

She knows that this house isn’t technically Saresh’s but rather belongs to whomever holds the Supreme Chancellor position. Still, she can see the appeal in having this sort of place.  
“Are you worried that someone is spying on you, sir?”

“Well, with the information I’ve recently received, I don’t want to take any chances.  
Tell me, Major, do you recall the Havoc team you joined when you were first assigned to them?”

Not quite what she had expected to hear. Despite the fact that she wasn’t with them for very long at all, it’s hard to forget betrayal.  
“Yeah, of course. Though, I will admit, haven’t thought about them for quite some time.”

“I don’t blame you. I’ve read the files and I have to say that some of them got off easy after that kind of betrayal, despite what they may have endured.  
I have to ask, though – Colonel Jek Kardan, Major Harron Tavus, Lieutenant Vanto Bazren – you spared those three men, but not the others. Why?”

Elara turns to watch her girlfriend lean back in her seat, while still keeping her hands upon her knees. Reezah ponders the question and allows the emotions she felt back then to flow through her mind.  
“I…suppose it came down to two things – opportunity and mentality. Some of the others did not give me the chance to spare them, as they were ready to fight to the death. Would I have spared them if I was given the proper choice to do so?”  
She tilts her head back and forth for a moment, and then shrugs.  
“And, I suppose I should admit that all three that you’ve mentioned were…good soldiers once. They fought long and hard for the Republic, almost giving their lives for the cause, numerous times. I feel like they deserved some leniency.”

Saresh has been staring at her with interest and when the togruta is done, she crosses her legs.  
“I see. I have heard that some may have felt it was too lenient.”

Jorgan comes to mind, something that the two of them have discussed a few times. Elara clears her throat to get the Chancellor’s attention.  
“If I may, Your Excellency, such opinions have often been expressed with a rather emotional impact. Personally, I disagree with those who feel this way and I believe the Major made the right decision.”

Reezah smiles at her XO, glad to have her support. Saresh remains neutral to both opinions.  
“Nevertheless, your choices have unfortunately had consequences.”

This manages to capture the Major’s interest and she feels how a small bit of tension settles in.  
“Consequences, sir?”

“Indeed. As of last week, all three living former members of Havoc Squad have escaped from their imprisonment and left Republic territory.”

For several seconds afterwards, the room lies silent as they ponder what was just said. Escaped? How is that even possible? Last time she spoke with them which, granted, was quite a while ago, they did seem kind of remorseful after all that had occurred. Has that changed?  
“May I…ask you to provide us with more details?”

“Of course.”  
Saresh stands up and walks over towards a dark wooden desk, a few meters to the left of the sofa and grabs a datapad. She hands it to Reezah before she sits down once more.  
“That one has all the details but, I can give you a quick summary.  
The high security prison placed on one of Coruscant’s moons, where they were jailed, had a sudden blackout in certain sections just a week ago. A small riot broke out, but was subdued before it could spread too far. Unfortunately, it seems to have been too late to stop our runaways.”

Elara is quicker at reading and have already begun checking the files.  
“Wait, are you saying that they had help then, sir?”

“That seems to be the case, unless they somehow staged this themselves. We believed the Empire may have been behind this to begin with but, we’re not completely sure just yet. There are has been no obvious remnants of imperial codes within our databanks so, we can’t make any definitive conclusions.”

Reezah frowns, becoming more and more agitated with what she’s hearing.  
“Where did they go after that? Back to the Empire?”

“It took SIS a little while to track them down, but we’ve recently received news that they’ve likely headed to Khalendur in the Outer Rim.”

“Khalendur? I’m unfamiliar with that name.”

Saresh nods, gesturing at the pad once more.  
“It’s all in those files but, essentially, it’s an independent world. The Empire has a presence there since a few years back, but for the most part, it’s a rather unstable planet. They have no centralized government and most people are spread out among many city-states and organized gangs. The latter used to rule much of it and had holds upon certain city-state governments, but after the Empire arrived, they’ve diminished some of the criminal presence.”

Reezah clenches her fist slightly, placing her other hand above it.  
“So, you’re saying we can’t just send a fleet that way.”

“Well, we could, if we actually had the resources and manpower for it. If we wanted to take control of Khalendur, we would have to invade, but we’re stretched rather thin with the ongoing war. I can’t let my officers surrender valuable ships just to capture three escapees.  
However, I’m hoping that won’t be necessary anyway. A small infiltration team would be much more efficient, after all, and you and your crew know these people best. Think you can get this done, Major?”

Before she responds, Elara examines her again, hoping she won’t find what she’s looking for, but by the scowl and the determination burning in those light blue eyes, it’s likely that this won’t go down easy.  
Reezah stands up and salutes.  
“You can count on us, Chancellor. We won’t let traitors slip out of our grasp.”  
  


* * *

  
Even when they get back inside their cabin on the Meteor, the tension inside Reezah won’t leave her be. She unbuttons the coat of her uniform and tosses it down on upon the back of a nearby chair. Beneath it, she’s wearing nothing more than a black tank top. Elara follows her of course, but appears somewhat unsure for the time being. They didn’t speak much on the speeder they rode to the ship.

“Dear, talk to me. How are you feeling?”

Reezah remains quiet until she has moved over to the bed, sitting down on the far side with her back turned and places her elbows on her legs, tilting her head into her hands.  
“I…I dunno.”

It’s been a while since they last heard from these people and with how they deserted so early in the Major’s spec ops career, it’s not strange that she might be feeling hurt by these actions.  
“I understand that this is not easy for you.”

Closing her eyes, Reezah tries to recall the things that were said to her during the hunt, trying to find some wisdom from her experiences.  
“It’s just…it feels like I’m getting flashbacks from Ord Mantell, you know? Here we are again, but this time, it’s my fault that they’re out there, endangering the Republic once more.”

Elara approaches her, sitting down on the bed right behind her.  
“What do you mean?”

“I’m wondering if I made the right decision, Elara. Maybe it was a mistake to spare them.”

The Captain looks as unsure as she feels, by hearing it. She and Jorgan had arguments about these decisions when they were a lot more current news.  
“Why would you say that?”

“Well, isn’t it pretty obvious that they’re dangerous? They know far too much and could cause a lot of damage to the Republic if they hand such information over to the Empire. Hell, even if they work with a third party, that could still somehow get to our enemies and become devastating.  
And it is partially my fault that they were given this chance. Had I ended them for good, there would never have been the risk of this happening.”

She won’t blame Reezah for feeling regretful, but also doesn’t want her to live with this kind of doubt. It could potentially affect her judgement in the future if she’s given a similar choice.  
Elara places a hand upon the togruta’s back, hoping it is as comforting of a gesture that she tries for it to be.  
“You shouldn’t feel that way, Reezah. I know it is difficult to hear of this happening after the decision you made to spare them but, ultimately, it was a righteous one. Those three deserved the mercy they were given, no matter their crimes. At least in my opinion, imprisonment and rehabilitation is always the preferable option.”

It is soothing and pleasant to listen to Elara talk this way, despite the fact that they’re technically arguing. Or well, ‘debating’ might be more prudent in this occasion.  
“You sure? Even if the people you show mercy to are trying to actively kill you?”

“Well, first of all, we do not know their intentions just yet. Perhaps they merely wanted their freedom.  
Secondly, I believe we must always cling to a higher standard. We must follow our principles, as well as the rules and regulations which have helped create our society. If we do not, then what is the point of protecting the Republic? How are we any better than the Empire if we act in the same way that they do?”

“Some would say that, to survive, one must sometimes bend the rules if your opponent does not play in the same league as you are.”

“And I would counter with the argument that, if this occurs, then you have already lost. Whatever life and belief you previously aspired to, is lost by following down the same road which your enemy has fallen into. Is that what you want?”

Reezah clenches one of her fists, but not all too tightly. What she’s saying does make some kind of sense, at least.  
“I’m not sure if I agree with you, but…perhaps I’ll think about it. We do have a few days before we get there and we need to make some preparations first too. Guess Jorgan might want a say as well.”

While the Major calms down, Elara feels that it’s a good opportunity to slide closer across the bed, and wraps both arms around her back.  
“If you want me to, I could try to find some way to distract you before we arrive. I realize that this will not be an easy decision to make, if we do catch up with them.”

She may sigh and curse how difficult it is to be angry with her XO, but then again, that’s probably a huge advantage as well. She tends to be angry most of the time anyhow, and it’s preferable to have someone ease that burden.  
She faces Elara and leans in to kiss her gently, just before lifting the human up into her lap.  
“That’d be nice. Besides, I think we can spare a few minutes before we delve into this mess.”

Elara smiles in appreciation and rests her head against Reezah’s chest, while looking up into her eyes once more.  
“We’ll get through this together, like we always do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I don't recall there being any ranks given to the initial Havoc Squad members. They were just given codenames as far as I know, so, I decided to hand some out on my own._   
>  _As I mentioned last week, there'll be a follow up chapter to this as well. However, next week, I'm going to take a break from this story, because I'm trying to get a few one-shots out for Femslash February. Don't worry, I'll get back to this the week after._
> 
> _If anyone is confused and wondering what the whole thing with Saresh and the togruta was, I urge you to contact[@disgruntledape](http://disgruntledape.tumblr.com/ask) on tumblr_.


	29. Breadcrumbs (Tr)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Okay so, I tried to continue the same stuff from last week, with Havoc investigating the area that the escapees fled to. However, I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter. I was trying to decide between going for a chapter focusing on the mission, or one talking about it in the aftermath. I went with the former but, I still feel as if I could've done this better. Oh well._

Evening has reached the Khalendur city-state of Maerbor on this late spring day. Similar to many of the independent settlements on this Outer Rim world, Maerbor is a fairly well maintained city, with many of the comforts and structural designs of larger and more ‘important’ worlds, such as those in the galactic core, Hutt territory or Imperial-led planets. Khalendur itself may not be a planetwide cityscape, but that does not mean that it is any further behind some of those who are. Most living quarters for citizens are fairly modern and sturdy, and because of the importance of utilizing all the territory they can within their borders, there’s almost no place that is simply left abandoned. This isn’t true in every case, but for most of them.  
As Havoc squad have been scouting the apartment complex in one specific district for the past few days, they’ve come to realize this fact as well, and they’ve become fairly familiar with some of the tenants in the building they’re targeting. Unfortunately, there’s not been a single sign of either of their three escapees, the former members of Havoc who had been incarcerated until recently. Either they’re too paranoid to leave their apartment or something else is going on. Major Reezah decided that it was best to wait until darkness would fall to act, however.

As it has now arrived, two of her team – Reezah herself and Captain Elara – walk out onto the street and towards the door which leads into the complex. While it’s late, there’s still a fair few people out on the streets, either walking in towards downtown or back to one of their own places. There are many other apartment buildings nearby, so it’s not strange to see a lot of activity. On the way, they can hear music playing loudly enough to be heard across the area, as well as what seems like some sort of party in another. Not of interest to Havoc, but a good way to possibly help cover their own actions, should things get a bit louder.

All of their squad are dressed in civilian clothing as to blend in. Well, except M1-4X of course, who would have a lot of difficulties blending in anywhere, which is why Reezah left him behind to guard the ship.  
There’s an earpiece attached to each of them as well and as they have them constantly activated right now, there’s no need to push any buttons or so. She speaks loud enough to be heard by the team, but not so that anyone else would perceive it.  
“This is A1. We’re approaching the entrance. Status report.”

“A3 here, I can see you. Everything looks clear from up top.”  
As the sniper and the one who’s generally got the sharpest sight, it was an obvious choice to put Aric on a roof, able to not just get a good view of the house, but also a general outlook of the area.

“A4 reporting in. Conditions remain unchanged on the wider range of our sensors. A4 will keep monitoring the situation.”  
As always, Yuun is in charge of the technical level of things. He has had to bring short range sensor equipment, which is enough to at least scan the area around them, in case anything suspicious occurs. Currently, he’s located in the entrance of an adjacent building.

“Yeah, things look pretty calm here too. Oh uh, it’s A5.”  
Reezah sighs inwardly at Vik’s break of protocol. Shouldn’t be surprised of course but, it’s still as annoying as always. The even more annoying part is that he’s their closest backup, currently sitting on a bench just a few hundred meters away to the west, pretending to be reading something on his datapad. To Reezah, it was a pretty funny idea, because just thinking of Vik reading anything is a farfetched thing.

While they continue walking, for a moment, Reezah glances up to the starry skies far above, seeing the very distant signs of a huge ship in orbit. An imperial cruiser, of course, as they have been holding this planet for a few years now. Thankfully, there’s no more than about a handful of the big ones around the world, and they don’t much monitor everyday traffic, which is why Reezah’s team could so easily slip inside.  
The apartment they have to enter is on the second floor and the Major chooses to walk up the stairs with Elara. For now, they’re alone in the corridors.  
“A3, are the lights still on?”

This is something they noticed immediately when they found out where the trio supposedly lives. Sure, they use aliases, but it was fairly easy to figure out after, seeing how they apparently came to rent it pretty recently. Took whatever place was available as soon as possible, it seems.  
While the curtains are closed, it is still easy to see the lights shining through on the edges.  
“Affirmative. Nothing has changed as far as I can see.”

They proceed towards the correct door, eyeing it suspiciously, before they wait a few moments to make sure that no one else joins them. When they see no one else, the duo moves up to the door and rings on the doorbell. Several seconds passes, but they neither hear nor see anything.  
“A3, status.”

“Still nothing. Can’t see past the walls but, there’s nothing in the windows so far.”

Reezah folds her arms, but then turns to look at Elara, speaking to her in an even lower tone.  
“We’re gonna have to do this the hard way.”

Elara inclines her head before opening her jacket and lifting out a datapad from the inner pocket. She moves up towards the device where one usually puts in the electric key and plugs in a cord through it.  
“Applying necessary decryption programs now.”

In the meantime, Reezah moves to stand in front of her XO, with her back turned towards the door. Except for Aric, none of the team is armed heavily. They’ve got blaster pistols, but that’s as far as they could go without looking suspicious. While the Outer Rim have some dangerous worlds, Maerbor isn’t exactly a lawless frontier.  
A few moments later, they hear a clicking noise and Reezah glances over her shoulder.  
“Done?”

“Everything is ready.”

“Then let’s do this.”

After another quick sweep, she grabs her pistol from its hidden holster beneath her jacket and pushes the button to let the door slide open, and moves in first. Elara moves right behind her.  
They close the door behind them and then go through a slow and meticulous search of each room for any hostiles. There’s a main room, three bedrooms, plus a kitchen and a bathroom. The two split off and look through separate areas, but they see no signs of people.  
After a bit of silence, Aric’s voice can be heard over the comms.  
“A3 here. Talk to me.”

Reezah shakes her head and lowers her gun after she finished searching the bathroom, emitting a brief sigh.  
“It’s empty. Not a soul in the entire apartment.”

Vik can be heard soon after.  
“They just grabbed everything and left?”

Elara responds for the team.  
“Negative. There’s certainly signs of activity.”

Reezah can hear how Elara is rummaging around among items in one of the bedrooms, while she goes to check the main room. Yuun’s translated voice can soon be heard across the comms as well.  
“Please elaborate, A2.”

“Well, they do not seem to have taken most of their belongings. I can still see a bag with clothes and personal items. It appears similar in each of the bedrooms.”

The Major nods as she stands by the table in the main room.  
“Aye, and they’ve left mostly empty food plates as well as some liquor containers.”

Vik snorts slightly.  
“So they left without doing the dishes, huh? Now that’s just rude.”

They can’t see it, but Aric rolls his eyes at the comment.  
“Do you find any information devices? Datadisks, pads, some discarded transcribers?”

Elara opens another bag in the bedroom she’s located in.  
“I’m trying to do so now. I should be able to…  
Ah, here. Found one. Give me a moment.”

Reezah wanders around the main room, approaching the window to peer outside.  
“Looks to me like they left the lights on as well, without intention.”

Aric notices her movement somewhat with his scope, which is able to pierce at least the thin curtains.  
“What, you think they were in that much of a hurry when they left?”

“Dunno, but it seems kinda sloppy to not do a proper cleanup. We can get DNA evidence from the cutlery, the containers or probably discarded pieces of hair or so if we wish. That doesn’t seem like something our targets would leave behind.”

Vik scrolls through a lot of text on his datapad, logging into the local HoloNet to see what interesting stuff he can find.  
“Maybe they heard we were coming.”

“Doubtful, but I guess it’s not impossible.”  
Reezah leaves the main room to approach Elara’s location.  
“Find anything?”

She inclines her head while she continues to watch the datapad’s information.  
“Yes. This one appears to have belonged to Lie-“  
She stops herself. The reason they’re using codenames and such is of course just in case someone tries to listen in, which is why they want to be vague.  
“Fuse. He did not keep much of a log or so, but there are some files about the Republic, the Empire, certain things regarding the war. Nothing overly substantial, though.”

Reezah frowns somewhat in thought.  
“Something is definitely wrong here. They wouldn’t just leave like this, unless it was absolutely crucial. We need to find where they went anyhow.”

Soon enough, they hear Aric’s voice again.  
“Hey, you two find any weapons in there?”

The two women look at one another, before Elara leans down to check the bags again. Reezah relocates to another room to do the same.  
“Not so far.”

“That means they must’ve left with them.”

“We don’t even know if they had any weapons at all yet, A3.”

Aric snorts and shakes his head.  
“You know as well as I do, that the first thing they’d try to attain is weapons, A1. They wanna defend themselves.”

He does have a point and on top of that, it is highly likely that it wouldn’t be that difficult to actually get some, even in Maerbor. As far as any of them know, most city-states utilize a lot of freelancers to defend themselves, both mercenaries and bounty hunters. That means they have to provide a fairly free range of weaponry.  
Despite this, their search comes up empty.  
“Well, we can’t find any here at least. If they were armed, they left with them.”

“And there’s no signs of a gunfight, I guess?”

“None, not even any struggle at all, from the look of things.”

Vik frowns slightly, but pretends it’s because of something he sees on the datapad, as a few people passes him by from a distance.  
“They can’t just have disappeared completely though, right? Either they knew we were coming, or someone else chased ‘em out.”

Elara meets with Reezah in one of the corridors, having holstered her pistol.  
“I suggest we ask around carefully in the neighborhood. These three can’t have lived here for longer than a week before we arrived, so someone must’ve seen something.”

The togruta sighs, one of her lekkus twitching somewhat in annoyance.  
“Maybe, but somehow, I think that’s not gonna be enough.  
A4, get on the HoloNet and see if you can locate any further information about this specific district. Maybe the media or some minor forums picked something up.”

“Acknowledged.”

In the meantime, the duo proceeds as Elara requested and begin asking as many of the neighbors as they can. It’s already fairly late, which is why they have to move fast so they don’t miss anyone.  
  


* * *

  
It’s almost midnight when Reezah returns to the apartment and unlocks it. They’ve tied it to one of their own devices now, giving them full access in case anyone would try to return here. Of course, that was already quite an unlikely outcome but, it’s better than not doing anything at all.  
Elara is still out asking some of the last apartments in the building, but she has shut off her own earpiece for now.  
“This is A1, I want a status report.”

Vik is first this time.  
“It’s about the same as the last time you asked, actually. I’m in a different location now, though. Sitting in a bar two blocks away.”

This time, Reezah sighs audibly.  
“You better not be drinking.”

“Relax, it’s nothing heavy. It was getting too suspicious just sitting on that bench all evening, so I relocated to where they’re watching some sort of local sports event. Besides, no one can hear me here.”

It’s reasonable that he’d go somewhere else but, she’s not happy about the fact that he goes to the least suitable area.  
Aric continues after that.  
“A3 reporting in. The streets have remained as unmoved as previously. No sign of the targets. A4 is still scouring the HoloNet but, nothing of interest as far as what he last told me.”

Reezah wanders off into the living room and then sits down in the sofa. She tries to check the empty plates to see what their last meal was, but there’s not much left except crumbs and some kind of stale leftovers of an unknown liquid, probably a sauce.  
“It’s disappointing but, seems like we’ll end up empty-handed.”

“Well…not entirely, right? We still have proof that they were here. We could use that.”

“Not for anything substantial, though. It doesn’t matter if we knew where they were, if we can’t find where they went.”

That’s when Elara’s voice interjects.  
“This is A2. I believe I can improve our situation somewhat.”

“You found something?”

“I believe so. Hold on, I’m coming in.”  
Reezah gets up and waits for about a minute before Elara finally walks inside and locks the door behind her.  
“You did not receive anything from the others?”

She shakes her head briefly.  
“Nothing of interest. A few had heard of our targets moving in but, they never actually saw them leaving.”

“It appears very few kept much interest for what their fellow tenants were doing. However, one man at the top floor did.”  
She walks up to the window, with Reezah following her, and slightly opens the curtains up.  
“He told me how he encountered two of them, the Commander and what I presume to be Fuse, in the elevator, just shortly after they moved in and tried to speak with them, so he could easily identify new people. They were…reluctant to speak of much significant details, as you can imagine.  
However, he tells me how he saw them leaving the apartment quite late, the night before we arrived. They wandered out across the street and then met with what he described as ‘some shady people’ out in an alleyway, about half a dozen of them. The group spoke for a time, then disappeared further into the alleyway. He did not see them after that.”

Reezah scowls and looks out from the window towards the alley that Elara is pointing out.  
“Did he hear anything of their conversation?”

“No. He opened a window, but they were speaking too quietly for him to pick up anything from this range.”

Even if that wasn’t anything substantial, that’s a start.  
“A3, check for surveillance equipment in the surrounding area.”

Reezah recalls seeing some cameras attached to some of the buildings across certain streets that they approached earlier. Wouldn’t be too implausible to believe that might be used here as well. They have to wait another minute for Aric to scan the area, before they get an answer.  
“Affirmative, I can see at least one camera that should have a half-decent overview of this street. It’s located by a taller building a couple of hundred meters to the east.”

“Do you believe that it would be able to view the alleyway northeast of our apartment, across the street?”

“It’s hard to say but, perhaps a meter or two at most.”

She nods sharply.  
“Should be enough. A4, A5, try to locate the source of that camera and get us access. We need to have logs from the past few days.”

Vik smirks from where he’s sitting in the bar.  
“Slicing into government networks, huh? Now that sounds like my kind of fun.”

“A4 speaking. The request has been acknowledged and we shall proceed as directed.”

Of course, Yuun will be doing most of the slicing but, Vik is still useful when it comes to improvisation and getting them access into restricted areas the more violent way. It’s likely to be useful right now.  
“I want this done before morning, preferably in two hours at most. Get on it.”

“Yes sir.”

“A3, continue to monitor our district. A2 and I will remain in the apartment for the time being. We’ll grab some of the DNA evidence, just in case. We’ll keep a comm silence for two hours. A1 out.”

Elara displays a somewhat worried expression as she closes the curtains again.  
“You think they’ll find anything?”

Reezah exhales slightly and shrugs.  
“I dunno, but it’s our only hope right now. We can’t stick around on this world for too long. I’m willing to bet that the Empire has stations to monitor transmissions and there’s still a major chance that they snap ours up. We need to be quick before something happens.”

“And if the Empire got to them first?”

She doesn’t respond to this question directly, except providing a worried frown.  
“C’mon, let’s get to work.”  
  


* * *

  
When two hours have passed, and the duo have finished their own work, as well as discussing the situation, they return to the comms and find out that Yuun and Vik are also finished. Not only that, they’ve already been able to tap into some of the surveillance that was done during the same day. Yuun quickly transmits what he has downloaded on an encrypted channel and sends it over towards their datapads. Elara and Reezah sit down in the main room and watch it together, while the others pack their stuff and get to a secure location.

Reezah and Elara check the footage they have, how Kardan, Tavus and Bazren all walk out in the darkness of night just at the time that their neighbor had pointed out. They see how a group emerges from the shadows of the alley, all of them wearing hoods. Most of them are of a similar height, except one person that is slightly taller than everyone else, even the trio. Of course, there’s no audio, so they can’t hear what happens, but they certainly seem to converse for about a minute or two.

They have to zoom in and do their best to clean the imagery up but, even then, they can’t see much happening. Elara folds her arms.  
“It looks to me as if they aren’t exactly the best of friends. Tavus and Kardan especially seem kind of guarded in their stances.”

“Aye, I agree. You see how the others around the tall guy move as well? It’s like they’re surrounding our targets.”

Elara tilts her head, and nods.  
“You have a point, yes. But what could this mean? That they were captured?”

Reezah watches it for a bit longer, before shrugging.  
“Maybe, or that they had to flee from this group later on, I dunno.”

Eventually however, the group disappears out of view and do not return. Elara actually feels somewhat disappointed.  
“This still doesn’t offer us anything, though. None of the faces for these perpetrators, whomever they are, can be seen and we don’t know where they went. We’re left at the same stage as when I spoke to their neighbor.”  
Elara watches her, expecting a response but, it seems like Reezah is still viewing the datapad intensely.  
“Major?”

“I dunno.”  
She scowls in thought, doing her best to continue to improve the resolution. They can’t do much with this device but, Yuun can probably fix more later. However, there’s still something which Reezah is sure she can spot.  
“I’m pretty sure there’s something with that big guy.”

“Hmm? Whomever it is, they do seem to be the sort of leader, yes. Was there anything else?”

“Yeah, look here.”  
She points down around the waist level and then moves the footage forward and then back again.  
“You see there, by the belt?”

From this angle and distance, it’s still rather pixelated with how far they have to zoom but, Elara still sees something.  
“Hmm…there’s some kind of item there? A weapon?”

“I would assume as much, yeah.”

“A blaster?”

“To me, it looks more cylinder shaped.”

Elara widens her eyes and turns to watch Reezah.  
“Wait…you think it’s a lightsaber?”

She inclines her head and faces Elara as well.  
“I think it’s a possibility. We need Yuun to improve this image but, looks to me like we’ve got an even more substantial bit of evidence here.”

“So, what does this mean? They’re not as friendly with the Empire as we may have believed?”

“Either that, or our former allies are involved in something we may not have expected. The Empire is virtually in control of this world and I doubt they’d sneak around in the dark if they actually wanted to get to these people.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Just like last week, Khalendur (and Maerbor) might be a familiar world for some of those who have read one specific fic of mine from last year._
> 
> _Next week, I'm going to have some unrelated Bery and Lenorr content._


	30. A code for cirumstances (Sm)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This chapter is a little bit cheesy, I guess, but I think it suited Bery quite well._

The city of Taibak on the planet Candarha is located in the Mid Rim, and while it is the biggest city on this world, it rarely sees all too many oddities. Sure, they get quite a lot of people coming in to trade with them or tourists wanting to visit some of their intriguing hotspots or other possible visitors, but even with the war raging around the galaxy, they haven’t seen much difference in their business other than increased Republic patrols to their region of space, who constantly searches for possible imperial signals.

This is why there’s a little bit of commotion in certain districts when a red-skinned individual wanders beside a much shorter one with blue hue. It’s not a particular shock per se but, the appearance of a pureblooded Sith is not a common sight in these parts. As all the documents they have with them checks out however, no one has any direct complaints and they’re allowed to go about their business.

Lenorr mostly ignores any eyes who observes her passing and instead tries to keep her own attention on the woman who is with her. They both stay quiet until they’ve entered an apartment complex and taken the elevator up. She looks down upon her emerald green suit, which they purchased before they landed on this world, and tries to adjust it somehow.   
“Are you sure this is fine? I still don’t know if this is my color…”

Bery eyes the outfit, as well as the grey cape that hangs from her girlfriend’s back, finding the attitude kind of amusing. The twi’lek herself is in a simple magenta-colored sleeveless shirt with a low neckline, as well as a loose knee-length skirt. She puts a hand at her hip and tilts her head.  
“Haven’t I already told you that it is? Pretty sure I told you in the store. And on the Hypertrail. As well as our speeder ride here…”

“Yes, but…I still don’t know if you’re right. Your taste is questionable.”

The Captain rolls her eyes and sighs.  
“Oh, great, so why did you ask for my opinion in the first place?”

“One opinion is better than none.”

Bery does find Lenorr’s concerned attitude to be kind of adorable but, she also wishes she’d stop fussing.  
After a few more seconds, she steps up to the Sith and grabs her collar to pull her down, guiding her into a quick and yet satisfying kiss. Enough to distract her, anyhow. She’d use both of her hands, but she’s holding a bag in the other.  
“Babe, just listen to me, okay? You look gorgeous. And if I say you are, shouldn’t that be enough?”

The encouragement does manage to make Lenorr’s lip curl up into at least a shadow of a smile.   
“I suppose so. Does your family have similar taste as you, though?”

“Well…not quite but, who cares?”

“Uh, isn’t today the exact day that we should be caring?”

Bery smirks and winks at her, just as the elevator door opens when they arrive at the right floor. The twi’lek strolls on ahead and Lenorr has no other option than following her. The Sith is a little bit out of her elements here and it’s not just the planet. Actually, it’s the least of her problems.  
The building they’re moving through is quite nicely decorated, with the pattern on the walls displaying some kind of local flowers. The floor remains rather clean and each door seems to be in good and sturdy condition – a lot better than what Bery remembers growing up in. Hell, even the Hypertrail is a bit dirter than this.

She stops at a specific door and instead of ringing the bell, she knocks and calls out.  
“Tia! It’s me.”

Lenorr folds her arms, wondering why her girlfriend chooses to make such a noise but, she finds herself too busy by trying to stay composed to actually bother asking.   
The door is opened by another quite beautiful twi’lek but with teal complexion. She’s a little bit taller than Bery, but Lenorr can swiftly see the similarities – the smile and the brown eyes especially. Tia’sin stands in a sky-blue dress and instead of Bery’s leather headband, Tia has some thin black cloth wrapped around the first few inches of her lekkus, as well as her forehead. Just like her sister, Tia has them tattooed as well, although in a pattern consisting mostly of black spots. 

The younger twi’lek’s face immediately displays a bright smile as she steps forward and reaches out to embrace her sister.  
“Bery! Ah, it’s so good to see you again. You’ve been gone way too long.” 

While hers isn’t quite as bright, Bery can’t help but show a similar expression as she hugs Tia back.  
“Well, we would’ve come here sooner but, it’s been some quite busy months lately.”

Tia backs away just a little bit and with a solemn face, she eyes her sister.  
“At least you don’t have any bruises right now.”

“Of course I don’t! What, you thought I’d get into a fight as soon as I landed here?”

“The news about you are kinda wild so, you never know.”

Bery arches her brow in amusement.  
“You’d rather listen to news than your own sister? C’mon, Tia, all of that junk is just propaganda!”

When the younger sister smirks, Lenorr is now even more sure that she can spot the resemblance.   
“You’re telling me you haven’t been in a fight in the last week? Not even once?”

“Nope! Wait, we’re not counting like, the few hours in time difference between Hutt space and Republic space, right? Because that would totally be unfair."

Tia chuckles and shakes her head, pushing her sister’s shoulder a bit. That is when Lenorr clears her throat and speaks up, enough to get both of their attentions.  
“Well, at least you weren’t the one who started it this time.”

Tia immediately begins by eyeing the Sith quite slowly and Lenorr soon realizes that she’s holding her breath.  
“So, you must be Lenorr. I can see why my sister is attracted to you. The freckles are cute.”  
Bery simply grins while Tia offers the Sith a charming smile and her hand to shake.  
“I’m Tia’sin Shodem, although you likely knew that already.”

Lenorr is glad that there seems to be at least some approval and takes the offered hand into her own.   
“Yes, your name has come up as a topic of conversation a few dozen times. Lenorr Evintok is my full name, if Bery has not mentioned it.”

“She has, but that’s okay.”  
She surveys Lenorr once more, somewhat skeptically.   
“Hmm, Bery said you’d be taller. I mean, you’re not short but…”

Lenorr frowns for a moment as she turns her suspicion towards Bery, who tries to look as innocent as possible.  
“Did she?”

“Yeah, she practically described you as a mountain.” 

Bery snaps her finger and points accusatorily at Tia.  
“Hey, that’s taking too far! I just said she was really tall. And she is!”

“Pretty sure you used a few different words than those ones.”

Not exactly surprising, but Lenorr sighs regardless.  
“I suppose that it is not exactly news that Bery tends to exaggerate. And besides, to her, everyone is tall as a house.”

Bery opens her mouth and gasps, trying to look more offended than she really is.  
“Excuse me?! Is that a joke on the expense of my height?!”

The Sith turns a smug gaze towards her girlfriend.  
“Well, you are short.”

“I’m not! I’m perfectly average! You’re just like, a monster height!” 

Tia laughs again, finally understanding what sort of relationship that they have. After that, she steps aside.  
“Maybe you two should come on in? We don’t have to let the neighbors hear our entire conversation.”

“Yeah, and I don’t want to hear Lenorr bragging for another second!  
Oh yeah, you better take this bag. It’s a few gifts we brought with us from some planets in the Outer Rim. Some drinks, a few special holovids that you can’t get anywhere else. Oh, and also some interestingly scented oils and candles. I know you like that stuff.”

The last part especially seems to make Tia excited.  
“Ohh, thanks! That’s very kind of you.”   
She takes the bag and moves to place it in their kitchen.

They both enter the apartment and while Lenorr pushes a button to close the door behind them, Bery’s eyes soon locks onto another individual. A few meters away from the entrance hall, she spots a man in a black suit. His skin is medium brown, with fascinatingly ornamental tattoos in grey and darker brown across his face and neck. In between the short black hair on his head, she also sees the characteristic horns of a zabrak.   
“And who are you supposed to be?”

After returning from the adjacent room, Tia smiles and approaches the rather nervous looking man, wrapping her hand around his.  
“He’s the guy I told you about. This is Varbath, my boyfriend.”

He bows his head deeply in greeting, as a sign of some kind of respect.  
“I-It is a pleasure to finally meet you, miss Shodem.”

Lenorr realizes that he’s probably attempting to make a good impression, although he may be trying a bit too hard. However, she almost feels bad for the guy, as she senses even more trepidation in him than she herself felt earlier.   
Her eyes turn to Bery and the kind of skepticism she aims at him is equal to when the Captain conducts trade deals with a Hutt.  
She steps up close, obviously shorter than him and then shakes his hand. Tia seems to be relieved, until she realizes it is too quick to assume.  
“That won’t save you, by the way.”

Varbath blinks in confusion.  
“Excuse me?”

“Just ‘cause you’re nice, doesn’t mean I won’t hesitate to put a blaster shot through your foot.” 

Tia widen her eyes in shock, while the zabrak swallows.  
“Bery!”

“What? I’m just sayin’.”

She lets go of his hand and crosses her arms over her chest. At the same time, Tia displays a severely annoyed frown at her sister.  
“This is your first meeting! You could stand to keep a little bit of an open mind, can’t you?”

“But this is me when I’m open-minded. If I wasn’t giving him a chance, he’d have already lost a hand at this point.”

Tia groans and raises a hand to rub the bridge of her nose. In the meantime, Lenorr merely stands further back and feels quite amused. She knew that Bery expressed some doubt regarding this boyfriend, but didn’t believe it’d be this bad. In fact, she was shocked to hear that Bery hadn’t met him yet. Apparently, these two have been together for a year now. Perhaps it takes that long for her to accept the fact that anyone is with her little sister.

While trying to draw less of Bery’s ire, Varbath instead focuses on Lenorr, which she notices after a few moments. He doesn’t bow his head to her but, he does nod politely.  
“It…is nice to meet you, miss Evintok.”

She has far more understanding for him than Bery does, as she’s kind of in a similar position of being scrutinized, so she spares him any further pain by returning the gesture.  
“And you as well, good sir.”

“I must say that I was a little bit surprised to hear of Tia’sin’s sister having a Sith girlfriend. We rarely hear of your people leaving the Empire.”

Not surprising and a lot kinder than what she has heard from other people who despise her kind.  
“It doesn’t happen very often, as many purebloods dislike the companionship of other species. I suppose I’m an exception, but not the only one.”

“Well, I am glad to hear that you two are together. I’m sure you make a terrific couple.”

“Thank you, I tend to agree.”

Bery smirks once more, but likely not out of some joy for the compliment.  
“By the way, Lenorr here can surely kick your ass even more than I ever could, so you better watch yourself.” 

Tia exhales heavily once more.  
“…Bery, dammit!”

“What? I just wanna make sure he knows he shouldn’t hurt my sister.”

“You always do this! I don’t understand why!”

“Not always. And hey, are you telling me that Illy wouldn’t wreck this guy if she had the chance?”

Tia shakes her head, probably wishing she didn’t get into this argument at all.  
“She would not.”

“That’s such total bantha shit! You’re telling me she hasn’t already threatened him yet?”

“She hasn’t!”  
She glares at Bery, but starts to falter under her older sister’s very doubtful gaze.   
“…okay, she has told me over the holo, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it!”

“Yes, it does. It’s tradition.”

“Threatening my romantic partners is tradition?! How?! That’s not even remotely fair!”

While the two of them keep arguing between themselves, Lenorr takes the opportunity to approach Varbath and shakes his hand properly as well. She is actually an inch or two taller than him, which makes it barely noticeable.  
“Honestly, though, it is pleasant to meet you, despite what my dear partner may say.”

He smiles at her, breathing out slowly as if he just returned to the surface from a deep dive.  
“And you as well, like I said. I am also glad to see that you are more level-headed than her.”

She finds that somewhat amusing, and realizes that other people might certainly disagree, with how she has acted in the past but, he doesn’t need to know that.  
“Bery can be a handful, I will admit.”

“Heh, you’d be surprised how similar she is to Tia’sin sometimes. Not that it makes me love her any less.”

Lenorr manages a smile of her own, even if it quite faint.  
“I believe we may share some emotions regarding the sisters, then.”

The duo hasn’t even noticed that the argument between the twi’leks has died down, especially as Tia gladly watches the exchange from a distance, before whispering to her sister.  
“Even though you mentioned it, I wouldn’t have expected a Sith to be so…nice.”

Bery shakes her head, but smiles somewhat wryly regardless.  
“Yeah, she tends to be like that with me and those I care for. With anyone else, she’s a hurricane.”

Tia looks to her sister, wrapping a hand around one of Bery’s.  
“She’s good to you then?”

While Varbath and Lenorr keeps talking to one another, Bery looks at her girlfriend with a gaze that might be described as admiring.   
“She definitely is. Lenorr is…unlike most women I’ve ever been with.”  
She clears her throat, looking a bit embarrassed with how serious the conversation suddenly turns.  
“I mean, don’t wanna sound too cheesy but…I don’t think I’ve ever been happier with anyone than I have been with her.”

Tia’s body fills with a sense of joy that quickly becomes apparent on her face as well. She raises her other hand to Bery’s cheek, stroking it softly.  
“You don’t know how relieved I am to hear it.”

Bery squirms a little bit, as she gets uncomfortable with her own softness.  
“…just don’t tell her that.”

“Tsk, fine, I won’t tell her you literally melt in her presence.”

“Shut up! I do not!”

Tia giggles, before she looks towards their companions.  
“Hey, do you two want something to drink?”

Varbath inclines his head, while Lenorr’s gesture is somewhat politer.  
“I believe we do, if it’s not too much of a bother.”

“It’s not! What would you like?”

Bery interjects before Lenorr manages to reply.  
“You got anything spicy? She prefers it that way.”

Tia glances towards the Sith for approval and she nods curtly.  
“She knows me very well.”

“Of course I do! You’ve spent enough time on my ship that it’s hard to forget what you like.”

Tia looks between the two, curious as to how they interact when they’re alone, seeing as how Bery’s taste in drinks isn’t quite the same  
“Alright then, I’ll see what we have.”

The sisters proceed together into the kitchen, moving towards a cabinet where some of their alcoholic beverages are stored. As they go, Bery wraps an arm around Tia’s shoulder.  
“So, how’s life treating you then, huh? Everything alright at the office?”

“Mhm, for the most part. I’m doing well at least, and I think that’s what they care about.   
And, before you ask, yes, I enjoy my time with Varbath. _A lot.”_

Bery emits a short laughter and raises a hand in defeat.  
“Alright, alright, I get it. I’m not here to convince you otherwise.”

“It’s too late at this point, even if you tried to.” 

“Tsk, too late, huh? When it is ever too late?”  
The look she gets from Tia the moment after she says this, does instill her with a bit of concern. It’s not that her sister looks unhappy, but she appears to hesitate.  
“What is it?”

“Ah, nothing.”

“C’mon, that face isn’t just ‘nothing’. If there’s something on your mind, speak up.”

“No, no…I just thought of what you said and, well, sometimes you simply know it’s right.”

Bery arches an inquisitive brow.  
“Uh, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you getting married?”

Tia opens the cabinet and begins to look through the different bottles they have stored here.  
“At some point, maybe.”

“So, what are you talking about then? Clearly something is up.”

“Why would something have to be up? I simply stated the obvious, because I love him.” 

The older sister narrows her eyes while Tia goes to fetch some glasses.  
“Tia, I know you well enough to determine when something is wrong, and that special sense of mine is now tingling, so, don’t try any of that deception on me.”

“There’s no deception! I’m not lying here.”

“Well, you _are_ keeping something from me though. You wanna tell me, or should I drag it out of mister skittish in the other room?”

If she displayed some reluctance earlier, it is even more apparent now, as Tia bites on her lower lip for a moment while pouring up their drinks.   
“I uh…I’m not sure how you’ll take it.”

Bery begins to frown, now seriously worried about what’s going on.  
“Does it matter at this point? I’m wondering if I should go and punch the guy before you’ve even said anything.”

“No! It’s not-…ugh, I knew you were gonna be like this.”  
She puts down the bottle she’s currently using and turns her attention fully to her sister.  
“Listen, I…I wanted to find some good opportunity to get into this but, I don’t think there can ever be a perfect one. So, maybe I should just tell you instead.”

The frown disappears, replaced by uncertainty.  
“…do I wanna know?”

“Well, you’ve pushed me, so you’ll find out whether you want to or not.”  
She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes for a few seconds, and then opens them again to lock with Bery’s.  
“I’m pregnant.”

The reaction she gains from Bery is perhaps expected, but it’s no less amusing for Tia. Her sister is, of course, stunned to begin with, just standing there staring with her mouth opened wide. If she was holding something right now, she’d likely drop it.   
After this, she swiftly turns her gaze down at Tia’s stomach, which obviously doesn’t show any clear signs just yet. Her eyes go back up again, then down once more.  
“Whoa…whoa whoa whoa! That’s…I…  
I don’t even…”

Out in the other room, Lenorr and Varbath have both gone quiet, as they heard Tia’s proclamation and simply wait to watch Bery’s response instead.   
Tia clears her throat during her sister’s awkward fumbling.  
“Maybe you should try to calm down and have a drink before-“

Bery suddenly straightens herself, sight turned directly at Tia, but her finger pointing at Varbath.  
“I don’t know whether to kick _his_ ass or hug _you!”_

Tia suddenly chuckles in relief, glad that she didn’t elicit any too negative emotions in Bery.  
“I’d prefer if you did the latter.”

To fulfill her sister’s wishes, Bery does just that and embraces Tia tightly.  
In the meantime, Lenorr smiles at Varbath and pats his shoulder.  
“Congratulations.”

He breathes out once more, something he has probably done more in the past few minutes than he usually does.  
“T-thank you. It means a lot that you both get to hear it. Tia'sin was so nervous and I…I suppose I was as well.”

As if suddenly realizing something, Bery tears herself away from her sister, grabs the bottles of liquor, as well as the fourth glass and puts them far away from Tia.  
“Hey, you shouldn’t even be touching any of these!”

This kind of protective action is at least more amusing to her, and she smiles while shaking her head.  
“Relax, I wasn’t actually going to drink it.”

“You’re banned from this now. You hear me, Varbath?! Gotta protect my nephew or niece or whatever, dammit!”

Tia giggles, while Lenorr displays a similarly happy expression as most of the others. Not what either she nor Bery expected but, she’s glad she could be here for the revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I don't really know if zabrak and twi'leks can have children but, there's that clone who gets kids with a twi'lek in the Clone Wars series so...yeah, figured I could go with this!_   
>  _And yes, if you're interested in these two and their families, don't worry, I'm gonna let them meet Lenorr's family as well. That's not gonna be quite as sweet, however._
> 
> _The characters in focus next time though, is Iron'zeranz and Nadia._


	31. Seeking the narrow warmth (JC)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _When I was thinking about how this chapter would look, I just realized that I hadn't allowed Nadia and Iron to directly speak of Iron's past. So, figured I would try it out._

Closing her eyes while listening to the sound of distant avian noises, Nadia takes a slow and deep breath. The scents in this place is rather refreshing too, helping to increase the calm and comforting sensations all around her. She knows that all planets in the galaxy are vast and diverse, but after what she had seen on Tython so far, she wondered if there was any place outside of the Jedi temple, that she can really relax. It hadn’t seemed like it, from what some of the acolytes she met had mentioned. Apparently, it was filled with wilderness, dangerous beasts and natural traps to wander off into. From what she’s seeing out here, miles away from the temple, that doesn’t seem to be the case. She can just lean back, close her eyes, think about something pleasant as she listens to the songs of the forest and perhaps enjoy a nice warm cup of-

“Nadia. You are falling behind. You have to keep up, unless you want us to leave you.”

…or she could anyway, if it wasn’t for her two companions who doesn’t seem to be very interested in sitting around. She sighs, pushes herself away from the tree and begins to once more follow the other woman.  
“Yes, master, I’m coming.”

The miraluka, as usually, doesn’t really show much emotions on her facial expression, but Nadia gets the sense of approval from Iron through the Force instead, as her master nods and looks towards the east, where their last companion is currently kneeling on the ground.   
Qyzen sniffs the air for a second, narrowing his organic eye before he speaks.  
“I have a feeling that our prey has picked up speed.”

Iron rests the metal piece in her hand over her shoulder and looks around.  
“I see. Do you believe it has noticed us?”

“Doubtful. It may be that something else around the terrain has chased it away. Still, we should be careful. The Scorekeeper does not award impatience.” 

“Of course. I suggest we continue in the same speed we have picked up so far. There’s no need to try to race it.”

“Indeed. Stay vigilant and we will catch up eventually.”

Nadia remains quiet as the two of them speak, and waits until they’ve begun walking once more. The trandoshan stays a little bit ahead of the two Jedi, perhaps because he trusts himself more in that regard, Nadia doesn’t know. For now, she focuses on her master.  
“So, I…have to admit that, when Grandmaster Satele and the others asked you to relax and take some shore leave, I hadn’t expected us to go hunting.”

She eyes both her companions and herself for a moment, especially their gear. Neither Jedi are in robes or any armor, instead dressed in sturdier boots, pants, jackets and gloves. They’re equipped for hiking or just generally being out in the wilds, not fighting. Well, they have brought with them their lightsabers and Qyzen has his techblade but, it’s not what either of them are wielding. Instead, all three are holding onto some sort of archaic spear, made out of steel, nothing else. No technology or special devices on them. Apparently, it is used to increase the challenge of the hunt.  
Naturally, they are also all equipped with backpacks, holding necessary items for survival in this environment, as well as a few more pieces of clothing, in case the weather would change. 

Iron continues to face forward as she speaks in a calming tone.   
“What were you expecting then?”

“Well, I guess when I think of someone taking some downtime, I think about just…relaxing.”

It has been a little while now since their mission, where they had to chase after the Republic’s prototype superweapon design documents and while the mission failed, Iron did take a pretty major hit when attempting to defend her fellow Jedi and the SIS agents with them. Quite foolish, even if it succeeded. Nadia is just grateful that Iron survived at all, and that the Council was understanding enough that she can’t simply go back out and fight without a short vacation first. However, she and Iron does not seem to have quite the same idea.

“I see. Does this include sitting down and doing nothing?”

“Well, not necessarily do ‘nothing’, just a less physical activity. I mean, isn’t that usually what you prefer, master? You like reading and studying a lot, don’t you?”

Iron considers this for a moment before she nods.  
“Yes, of course, but it is not my only interest, even if I enjoy it. There are other activities that I sometimes allow myself to indulge in.”

While Nadia thinks the spear in her hands is a bit…unwieldy, Iron seems to have no trouble at all, seeing how she can quickly swing it around into a combat stance or use it to deal with their surroundings, or even just as a walking stick.   
“Like hunting?”

“Yes. Hunting can be a fairly soothing activity, in my opinion.”

“Huh. I haven’t done much of it myself. What is it that you find so soothing with it?”

Iron turns around, facing another part of the forest to their side, while she still continues to follow the trandoshan ahead of them. Her Force sight doesn’t allow her to see quite the same things that Nadia does, but she is likely able to witness life in a completely unique and exciting way. The padawan herself hopes to one day be able to properly use that ability as well.   
“Strolling through the forest is enjoyable, I feel, and it is something I do not mind doing for days if need be. But hunting also provides a challenge, to hone your perception and sensory skills, as well as your agility, speed and strength. It requires a certain mindset and even more so when not using modern weaponry.”

Nadia frowns for a moment, lifting her hand to swat away some kind of bug that assaulted her neck. At least this one was small, but she has heard there are some which are as large as her head, which she isn’t looking forward to.  
“Hmm. That kinda sounds like a lot more work, if you ask me.”

“Does it? That is not quite how I see it, anyhow. For me, this has always been relaxing, even before I joined the Jedi. It allows me to relinquish thoughts of the rest of the galaxy or society around me, and put my entire focus on the hunt.”

Nadia contemplates these words for a while, wondering of the real intent behind them. If Iron has used this sort of thing to escape reality, in a way, what could’ve made her want to do that in the past? She knows that Iron has admitted to always being sort of socially awkward but, she hasn’t poked any further.   
“I guess I can see what you mean, even if I’m not sure that I feel the same way.”

“Do you wish to go back? You do not have to stay on my account.”

“No! Not at all.”  
She displays a gentle smile, even though Iron isn’t looking at her.  
“I just thought your viewpoint was kinda…peculiar, I guess. I like being out here though, with you. And Qyzen, of course.”

Iron turns to look over her shoulder, knowing that Nadia sometimes feel more comfortable if she gets to have ‘eye contact’, even if that only means seeing Iron’s face.  
“That is fine. But if you aren’t enjoying yourself personally, there is no point in suffering.”

“Tsk, I’m not suffering! I like this, in a way. It’s fun to see what your hobbies are as well. Other than reading, I mean.”

The miraluka merely nods and shifts her focus ahead once more.  
“As you wish.”

“I hope I’m not in the way or anything, though. Tell me if I am.”

“You should know that you aren’t, Nadia. You are always welcome to accompany me. Besides, this can be quite a useful lesson for you.”

Nadia smiles even brighter than before, glad to have the approval, even if it’s sort of expected.  
“So uh, what’s next on the agenda? I mean, after we’ve kept tracking this beast or whatever we’re hunting.”

“The hunt is only in its preliminary stages so far. We have a long way to go, and we need to fully examine and understand our prey’s movements, as well as its way of thinking. It may also be possible that we choose another along this path, if we locate one more suitable.  
We shall have a meditation session in a short while, I believe.”

“Meditation? Is that useful during hunting?”

Iron nods curtly.  
“For my people, it is. It aids with our ability to focus on what we’re doing, as well as our surroundings. If you use the correct techniques through the Force, it is possible to shift the balance of your senses, making certain perceptional skills be stronger at the cost of others, for a while.”

“Ohh. That sounds kinda interesting, actually. I’d like to experience that.”

“You will, in a short while.”

“So, what kind of animal are we actually going after?”

Iron tilts her head momentarily, before she shrugs.  
“I let Qyzen decide in this matter. He has more knowledge of the terrain and better sensory skills.”

Nadia glances after the trandoshan as he continues to walk, his eyes and nose sometimes making him turn in specific directions, but he doesn’t alter the course.  
“And you’ve hunted with him before?”

“A few times, yes.”

“And you always let him pick?”

“Not always. Once, we decided to let me take the lead, and it went well. But I believe he feels more comfortable and confident being the head scout, than anything else. It might be different when it comes to hunting with less experienced individuals.”

Nadia listens with interest, absorbing the information, as she tries to rest her spear in some reasonable way. She isn’t all too sure about using it as a walking stick, as she prefers to have her arms free, but it’s not possible for her to put it anywhere else either, not if she wants quick access to it.  
“That is kind of…curious, actually.”

“How so?”

“Well, I just figured that, if you intend to hone your own skills, isn’t it better if you do the work yourself?”

Clearly, she isn’t very knowledgeable about this, but that’s why she’s asking as well. Iron is, as always, happy to explain.  
“Not at all. Hunting is a multifaceted activity, like any other and forcing it as a solo experience is not completely necessary. That is not to say it cannot be, but at the same time, it is also possible to see it as an opportunity for bonding. Individuals get to learn and work together as a collective, a team, and are able to explore separate roles and their place among others.”

“And you…like that?”

“Yes. I find it fascinating.”

Nadia looks amused, having to stop herself from laughing a bit. She thinks it’s both funny and cute in the way Iron speaks of it, as though the act of bonding with other people is a curious subject for study, rather than a natural occurrence, or indeed, something she herself does.  
“Did you do this kind of thing yourself then, back on…uh, your homeworld?”

“Alpheridies. And yes, I did, both in teams and on my own, on a few occasions.”

“That’s interesting. Was this the kind of activity that your parents joined you on?”

There’s a bit of silence for a few moments, before Iron answers, although her tone is not different. Well, her tone rarely is.  
“No, they did not.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“My parents did not have any interest in such activities.”

Not inherently strange per se, but Nadia still arches a brow in confusion.  
“Not even if their child did?”

“Not really.”

“Hmm. That feels a little bit strange. I mean, not saying that anyone has to care for everything their children do but, shouldn’t parents show at least a little bit of interest in something that their offspring does? You know, for support and all that.”

Iron nods slowly, but otherwise doesn’t display many emotions. Nadia tries to search her master’s emotions, but she is quite adept at holding them in check, and she has never, to Nadia’s knowledge, had an outburst of emotional flare.  
“It is a reasonable request to make, but this has simply not been the case with mine.”

Nadia feels as if she’s getting some kind of peek into the reality of Iron’s childhood, but doesn’t wish to push it. It’s best to be cautious right now.  
“Well, most people are different from one another, I guess. Was your uh, relationship good with them otherwise?”

“No, I cannot claim that it was. We didn’t have much of a relationship at all.”

“But…but they’re your parents.”

“Yes but, as strange as it may sound to you, they did not much care for me.”

Nadia is momentarily stunned to hear it. Not care about her at all? Who would do such a thing? Perhaps it’s because of her own experiences but, her father had always been one of her closest friends, one who cared for her dearly. She expected this to be a norm somehow.   
“Uhm, why is that? Was there something problematic during your childhood or something?”

“In a way, I suppose. You must realize that I am not quite as sociable as many other people.”

“Maybe but, that doesn’t explain why your own parents wouldn’t care about you.”

“I suppose they didn’t discard me, but we always had a certain distance between us. It has been similar with most people around me.   
I have seen those commenting upon that I was not quite like other children, being defined as ‘detached’ within official records.”

“Detached?”

“Yes. It was attributed to my strength in the Force, which was incredibly intense for my age. My entire people has some kind of connection to the Force, but mine was simply stronger. It is why the Jedi sought me out to begin with.”

Nadia falters, as she somehow feels a similar trait in herself. Because of her powers in the Force, it pushed those of her people away.   
“What about the erm, the Luka Sene?”

“They found my strength in the Force to be a curiosity, and admired how it flowed around me. However, they feared and hesitated when I seemed to lack distinct barriers, especially when it comes to agreeing with the limitations of the light and dark side. I suppose this blunt attitude is what hindered my connection with most people.”

“But, didn’t you say that you didn’t hunt alone, even on your homeworld?”

“Of course. I did hunt with some other enthusiastic individuals, who shared my interests. We weren’t friends, really, simply people who all sought a similar goal. They allowed me to be around, because of my skills.”

Nadia looks saddened and shakes her head. To just be allowed the act of being around like that sounds, to her, cruel in a fashion.  
“Damn. I…I feel kinda bad now.”

Iron stops in her tracks then, calling out for Qyzen to wait, while she faces Nadia.  
“Why do you say that?”

Nadia bites on her lower lip in doubt, digging the bottom of the spear into the dirt.  
“Well, you know…because you had such a bad experience, while I did not.”

“That is not true. Did you not lose your mother at birth?”

“Yes but, my father and some of our closest relatives were very kind to me. They cared and protected me, helping me believe in myself all the time. You…you didn’t have that. It’s not fair.”

Iron watches her for a few moments, and it’s difficult to say what the miraluka is feeling at this time but, she soon walks closer to her padawan, placing a hand along Nadia’s shoulder.  
“You should not have to feel that way, Nadia.”

“But…”

“There is no need for guilt, simply because you had a decent family. Everyone has different experiences and while it is good to be mindful of others, you do not have to punish yourself for having it better than I did. It will not solve the situation, nor will it cheer either of us up.   
I care for you, and would not wish such emotions upon you.” 

Nadia glances up, facing her master while she searches Iron’s expression. While they stand there in silence, Iron opens her mind up somewhat, relinquishing some of the defenses, to let the sarkhai get a sense of what Iron is feeling at this time. There’s’ certainly no animosity or jealousy, which calms Nadia in a way.   
Eventually, a smile returns to her lips.  
“If you and Qyzen are ever out on something like this again, you can always ask me, master.”

Iron nods and shifts towards the path ahead.  
“I will keep that in mind.”  
After they've taken a few steps forward, she stops once more and turns halfway to her padawan.  
“And thank you.”

Nadia’s smile gets even brighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _It may have become somewhat more personal than I expected but, whatever._   
>  _And yeah, I don't know much about hunting but, I just felt like describing why Iron enjoys this kind of thing._
> 
> _Next time, I'm gonna start another small "arc". It'll be either two or three chapters, for Zal'riva. Naturally, her companions will be around as well._


	32. The depths of ascension (SW)

After exiting the blur of hyperspace, the Tempest bursts through the emptiness of normal space, as it searches, or more likely waits, for its target to become visible. There is a clearance that is needed and one which they’ll require to see anything at all.  
Eventually, the vessel they’re searching for reveals itself – the massive fortress belonging to none other than the Sith Emperor. By exterior design, it is quite similar to most space stations utilized by Empire, most likely to allow it to blend in or at least not seem very special, but the people inside the Tempest are well aware that it is equipped with all manner of ancient and modern technology, making it one of the most advanced crafts in the Empire. The gree cloaking device should be enough to prove this. 

The Tempest is soon invited into the bowls of the station and they settle down within the rather empty cargo bay.  
A few minutes later, as Zal’riva and Jaesa exits through a hatch at the back, they find themselves alone in here, except for two shuttles. It is silent, almost eerily so, and while they look around, Jaesa appears quite troubled.

Zal notices her apprentice’s discomfort both physically and mentally.  
“What’s wrong, dear?”

Jaesa glances her way for a moment, before she shudders.  
“It’s…it’s this place. It has such disturbing vibes all around it. Reminds me of that feeling when we went to the Dark Temple but…worse, somehow.” 

The twi’lek frowns in thought and then nods.  
“I agree. From what I’ve been told from various sources, his essence is infused in this vessel. Even while he’s not present, it is possible to feel the darkness that surrounds him lingering in here.”

She doesn’t say anything about it, as it is far too unsettling, but Jaesa certainly knows of what she speaks. It is so very blatant all around them. A part of her, rather small perhaps but one that still exists, tells her to run and never come back, but she has long since learned to control such emotions.  
“Do you want me to come with you, master?”

Zal considers the proposal for just a moment and then shakes her head.  
“No, it is best if I go alone. I still do not know how the rest of you may be…affected by what occurs in here.”

Despite that she asked, Jaesa looks to be relieved for what she hears.  
“As you say, master. And…thank you.”

Zal smiles, gently putting a hand on the human’s shoulder.  
“You can go back inside the Tempest if you wish. Just watch over the area and don’t get in the way of any possible Sith that may come here.”

“Very well, I’ll do just that. Stay safe, master.”

Turning around, the twi’lek shifts herself towards the exit on the far side, which she knows will lead to her destination. Behind her, outside the force field that sits as the exit of the hangar, she notices a slight shimmer as the cloaking device is once more initiated.  
Leaving the hangar, her journey takes her out through several corridors and past many different rooms. While the halls aren’t exactly crowded, she does encounter the occasional inhabitant. Even so, most of them are just an eerie reminder of where she is. Purebloods with the Emperor’s essence and droids from various origin are the most common sights in here, but she does see a few highly-modified cyborgs as well from different species. On top of that, there are also a few members of the Imperial Guard, although because of their outfits, it is hard to see what they’re like beneath. Zal prefers it that way.

It’s difficult to determine how or why, but Zal is pretty sure that on her meeting with the Emperor, during their stay on Voss, he somehow infused her with a bit of his essence as well. Not quite the same as many of the purebloods around this station, but enough so that she doesn’t actually feel the same discomfort as many others who come close to any of the Emperor’s possessions. Well, that’s not to say that she isn’t unnerved at all – that is a constant sensation she has to live with in these places, just like anyone else, but she can pass through without the fear of it affecting her mental state. At least, she believes that’s how it works.

Zal is also very well aware of what Ktila has told her, when she was kept in the Emperor’s grip for months. She knows that her beloved continues to have nightmares and the occasional flashback, and it doesn’t seem to get better with time.  
The twi’lek has visited this station twice before, and both times with special shuttles that took no one else except her. On her first visit, only a few months ago, she demanded to see where Ktila had been kept. Some were surprised that she would ask such a thing, but she is treated with great reverence by most of the Emperor’s servants, which is why no one dared question her. While the areas where Ktila stayed had been wiped from any proof of her ever being there, Zal still wished she could destroy it. It wouldn’t spare Ktila any pain nor remove her memories, but it would satisfy the rage inside of Zal.  
Occasionally, she wonders if the increased ire is due to her connection to the Emperor, but she tries to wipe such thoughts from her mind. 

After walking past several people who bow or otherwise show respect to her, she eventually enters a room with two very familiar individuals. At the sight of them, Zal lowers her own head very slightly, even though her respect isn’t as grand as they likely expect.  
“Servant One, Servant Two, I have come as requested.”

Servant One inclines his head, while Servant Two merely stands there.  
“Wrath. It is good to see you here once more. You rarely come home. Many of the others have missed your presence.”

Servant Two gets a few words in as well.  
“The body may not remain whole without the entirety of its components.”

Having gotten used to the latter’s mannerism by now, she focuses instead on Servant One’s words. ‘Home’ is definitely not a word she associates with this place. It’s almost so bad that she’d prefer virtually anywhere else rather than the fortress but, she speaks none of this out loud.  
“I understand that they may feel this way but, I rarely have time with all the assignments I am given, plus doing what the rest of the Empire needs of me. I am very content within the confines of the Tempest anyhow.”

“Naturally, and you are of course allowed to do so. The Wrath has always been a free spirit.”

“Without freedom, rage shall abate and stumble in the depths of darkness”, Servant Two comments afterwards.

Zal folds her arms, keeping her eyes down on Servant One.  
“May I ask about the Emperor’s status? Has he given any signs of his return?”

There’s a slight furrowing of Servant One’s brow, and he shakes his head.  
“No, the situation remains unchanged. He has contacted us, of course, and he is very adamant to reclaim his former position but, it is proving to be somewhat difficult. This process is not something he is used to and therefore he must be given more time to regenerate.”

“Reincarnation shall be summoned through the eruption of life and death. Through power – existence.”

At one point, Zal figured it was Servant One who, being the first of the Emperor’s Hand, would be the one to receive messages from him, but it appears from what he has told her that only Servant Two are privy to such things. The odd pureblood perceives the galaxy in ways that few others are capable of, which is why the Emperor utilizes him. Zal has started to pay more attention to the odd man for this reason.  
“As you say. We will of course give him all the time he needs.”

Servant One raises his hand and starts moving, motioning for her to follow.  
“Come, let us walk. We have matters to discuss.”  
Servant Two is left behind as Zal proceeds to his side and they move through the mostly empty halls around the fortress. She doesn’t know if the rest are busy or they simply relinquish the space for the pair.  
“Speak of your crew, Wrath. How are they performing in their duties?”

She places both hands behind her back while she can easily keep pace with him. In fact, it would probably be the opposite that would be more of an issue, seeing as how she is taller.  
“Splendidly, of course. I have no major complaints regarding any of them.  
Captain Quinn and Lieutenant Pierce remain loyal and capable soldiers. In fact, I am thinking of somehow giving them both a promotion.  
Vette does very well in her own way, and always attempts to find new paths to improve our ship, as well as do what she can to influence the people.  
Broonmark is…well, he tries his best, I suppose. There’s still a certain difficulty in handling his temper, and I wonder if that will always be the case but, for now, I shall continue to try.”

Servant One nods, although it’s difficult to know whether he is truly interested.  
“And young Jaesa Willsaam?”

“She has performed admirably, as always. Her knowledge of the Force continues and I have no doubt that she may one day reach a level that is enough to challenge some of the strongest Sith in the Empire, perhaps even me. I can ask for no finer apprentice, though I wonder how long it will be that she stays at such a position. She may deserve more.”

Once more, he inclines his head. One arm is kept behind his back, while the other is held at his side, occasionally being lifted to gesture in some fashion.  
“Many of us have been impressed with her skill and her special talents. In fact, even the Emperor has, to a certain degree.”

Not exactly what she wanted to hear but, it’s probably better than him being displeased. That he has any eye on her at all, is disconcerting however.  
“The master would care for such things?”

“In a way. He still recalls your encounter outside the Dark Temple, when you sought him out. She may have had certain…aid from exterior sources, but it is still impressive for her to sense him at all.  
Perhaps she too shall be brought into the Emperor’s service, when the time is right.”

Not if Zal can prevent it but, such emotions must be kept secret around these people.  
“We can only hope.”

“Her ability to sense the nature of different beings is remarkable nonetheless, would you not say?”

“Of course. It is one of the reasons that my former master found himself surrounded by so much trouble. While she was falsely guided by the Jedi, it was still mostly her efforts which single-handedly exposed much of Baras’ plans. She has proven herself many times to me as well and I am sure that I could not have succeeded with certain efforts without her.”

“How far does her ability stretch? Is she capable of pinpointing individuals in larger crowds and areas?”

Zal’s eyes shift to watch him carefully for a moment, wondering why he would be asking such a specific question, but understands that this may be why she is here now.  
“She has honed it for quite some time and she can locate people fairly well if she is within their vicinity. She still has difficulty with long distances, especially in space, but if she is within a few miles, it isn’t impossible for her. All too crowded regions, such as a large city, may still prove a challenge, though.”

“Hmm, but do you know the full extent of her power? Of its limits?”

“No, I do not. I doubt that Jaesa does either. Because she knows no one else with these powers, she has not had the chance to compare, nor truly learn from someone else. I do my best, with my own rather restricted view of it.”

His eyes travel downwards, as he they look away with a certain distance.  
“I see.”

“Is there something amiss, Servant One? Is the Emperor questioning her powers?”

“Not at all. She has done very well and it is not her we are concerned with, but rather how she can benefit us. There is a mission prepared for you, a vital one, and she will likely be a necessity for your success.”

This is a first. Jaesa has been with her every time up until this point, but she has never been pointed out as a crucial element previously. This is either an opportunity, or a danger.  
“Is that so? Tell me and I shall see what can be done.”

“The issue itself is rather simple, but it will be complicated to solve.  
A Servant, one of the others among the Emperor’s Hands, has recently been murdered.”

The news stuns Zal. Murdered? That’s a very specific term that can mean one of many things.  
“What? But…how? I thought you were so hidden that only Servant Two could locate them all.”

“That is the case as far as we know, which is why it was such a shock to sense her demise. No one should be able to so easily find nor eliminate one of us, and yet, it has occurred.”

“You have the body then?”

“We do and it has been examined extensively to locate any traces or clues.”

She doesn’t need details on the latter, but can figure what they might’ve done with the body. Probably no fancy burials for slaves of the Emperor.  
“Do you have any suspects?”

“No specific individuals, but we are certain that it was done by someone within the Empire.”

That would explain why he used that word, instead of saying ‘eliminated’, which would be more appropriate for the Republic.  
“How do know?”

“As I said, we examined the body and our own powers in the use of the Force gives us extended abilities which are rare outside of our group.”  
Zal figures it’s probably why the Emperor has connected them to himself, but she continues to listen instead of mentioning the obvious.  
“While we do not have an individual, after thorough investigations, we have pinpointed a location which is very likely where it would be possible to find vital clues, perhaps even the full truth.”

“And where would that be?”

His red shining eyes is turned upwards, to lock with her purple ones.  
“The Searing Conquest.”

Another look of surprise, now even more so than previously. This can’t be, can it? That would be madness.  
“What? No. But…that is the flagship of-“

“Darth Marr, yes.”

She feels very troubled at this revelation, as it opens up to a lot of fairly uncomfortable questions. Will she be required to eliminate him? Not only is he a very powerful Sith in his own right, he is also someone that she respects. Except for Valcera, he may be one of the most reasonable Dark Councilors, who actually cares about the Empire.  
“Do you believe that he is responsible for the crime?”

“We cannot tell. Not yet, at least. All we know so far is that someone who knows the one responsible, or who was involved in the murder, is present on that ship. It may actually be several people, as we don’t know the full extent of this conspiracy.”

“Troubling news, indeed…”

“Aye. This is why you must go there, Wrath and investigate the matter yourself. With the help of your apprentice, it may be your only chance to locate this individual or the individuals.”

She folds her arms, already trying to plan a strategy. How is she going to approach Marr about this without causing too many problems?  
“I see. I must warn you, however, that Jaesa will likely have to be on the ship itself to conduct her search. With so many people on a dreadnought of that size, it will make it difficult to sense anything if she is too far away. I doubt that Marr will enjoy such...demands.”

“We are very well aware of this, which is why none of the Servants can do this investigation. All members of the Dark Council are notorious for their desire to protect their power and privacy. Had the Emperor been present, he could’ve easily forced the issue, but that is not possible at this time. As we do not carry the same aura of authority nor your strength, you are our only choice here, Wrath. We are counting on you.”

She takes a deep breath, trying to control herself and her emotions. He is practically telling her that she is alone with no backup in this situation, but it’s not exactly as if she is unused to such hardships. She is reluctant about getting involved in such complicated politics in the Empire but, she doesn’t really see herself as having much choice.  
“Very well, I will do my very best to use a measure of diplomacy to succeed.”

“Do as you wish, but do not feel as if you are inhibited from utilizing force as well. You are the Emperor’s Wrath, and can demand much respect from anyone under his rule, even the Dark Council.”

This may be true, but she realizes it’s not exactly that simple. Even she cannot defeat all members of the Dark Council alone. But, perhaps such violence won’t be necessary – she can only hope.  
Zal puts a closed fist to her chest and bows her head.  
“I shall make sure that the truth is revealed to us, no matter the cost.  
The Emperor’s will be done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I know I said that there would be companions around, but I realize that pretty much only Jaesa will be part of this little mini-arc. On top of her, Darth Marr will also be a major player in the next two chapters._
> 
> _Tried checking Wookieepedia, but couldn't find any name for Marr's flagship so, I tried to make one that sounded appropriate._


	33. To where it crumbles (SW)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Look at this shit. Mass Effect: Andromeda is out in Europe today and yet I'm STILL releasing another shitty fanfic chapter. Are you not pleased about my devotion? Are you not happy about my determination? Please, feel free to thank the stars for me._   
>  _Seeing the quality of this chapter, I understand why you wouldn't, though._

“I do not enjoy being undermined, Wrath.”

This didn’t start off very well at all. The point had been to not make all too much of a fuss, but it seems that when the Emperor’s Wrath visits, she can’t just go strolling inside within turning a few heads. Or getting the door shut in her face.  
Zal’riva sighs and places her hands at her hips.  
“I understand how you feel, Marr, and I am not here to cause any trouble. All I need to do is investigate the ship and the crew.”

 _“My_ ship and _my_ crew, you mean.”

“Yes, but this doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with you personally. Just because we need to check your surroundings, it does not mean you are implicated.”

“Then why do you refuse to tell me what this is about?”

Zal rolls her eyes and shakes her head. She understands his suspicion, but it would make things a whole lot easier if he did not act this way.  
“Because I act on behalf of the Emperor, Marr, and in this situation, he demands your obedience without being able to give you the full reasons for why. I suggest you cooperate.”

Her attitude isn’t entirely without some weight – they all know her power by now and she could likely hold her ground, even with the Dark Councilor and his guards at the entrance of the room from where they entered earlier.  
Marr folds his arms and begins to pace across the floor.  
“Do you not trust me, Wrath? Does the Emperor doubt us so much that he cannot allow you to speak clearly during situations like these?”

“I did not say that he didn’t and this isn’t about trust specifically. The matter I have to deal with is very delicate and I can’t have too many people involved.”

The twi’lek glances to the side, looking towards the other woman with her. Jaesa was the only one that Zal thought was necessary to bring with her from the Tempest onto the Searing Conquest. She was uncertain how Marr would react if she told her entire crew to board the dreadnought. It could’ve been seen as a threat and that was definitely not what she intended.  
Marr’s sigh is brief and his voice makes him sound rather annoyed.  
“I do not like this, Wrath. The Emperor may be our master, but I am a member of the Dark Council. He cannot just toy with us whenever he pleases.”

“This is not about messing with you or the Dark Council. Certain things have happened and I need to investigate your ship for it. We won’t even go into your private quarters, because you are not suspected. Why is this so hard to accept?”

Well, that last part is only a half-truth. By the words of Servant One, it definitely seemed like they mistrust Marr, even if Zal herself remains uncertain of any conclusion.  
“Well, if there is no accusation aimed at me, then surely, you would have no qualms regarding me joining in your inspective efforts, yes?”

She scowls at him, as he is only making this harder for her.  
“No, I cannot allow that. This is my mission and I must be allowed to continue it on my own.”

“It does not appear as if you are alone, Wrath.”

Zal glances at Jaesa again, as it’s clear who he’s indicating, but her apprentice doesn’t react to it. It’s hard to see where she’s looking actually, as the human has her hood pulled up at this point.  
“She’s my apprentice. Where I go, she goes as well. I need her expertise.”

“Her expertise? Is it you or she who will be conducting this examination?”

“I will, but her skills are needed.”

“And what is it she will be using them for?”

Zal groans, her own irritation growing.  
“Dammit, Marr, do you really want to continue this line of inquiry?”  
She takes a few steps forward, closing the distance between them. They are of a similar height and almost the same size as well. In terms of the Force though, Zal could likely prove a little bit too much of a threat to him, but he doesn’t seem intimidated. Then again, with that mask on, it’s difficult to know any of his feelings. He can certainly block any stray emotions from being revealed on the mental scale.  
“Right now, you are standing in between the Emperor’s will and his target. If you want my personal recommendation, I would say that is most unwise.”

“Noted. However, I would argue that it would be just as foolish to let a few powerful Sith stroll around the confines of my personal ship without any surveillance or knowledge of why.”

“Would you be saying this if the Emperor himself came for a visit? I would not think so.”

“Perhaps not. But he isn’t here, is he?”

As far as Zal is aware, the rest of the galaxy does not yet know the true extent of what happened to the Emperor and she prefers to keep it that way. At least for now.  
“No, but it can certainly be arranged if you continue to stand in my way, Marr.”

They stare at one another at this point, or as best as they can. Zal has no other option than simply looking right into Marr’s mask, but as he faces her, she comes to the conclusion that he is likely doing the same behind it.  
There is a stark tension in the room, which even the imperial soldiers by the door likely can sense and a slight fear that this might come to blows, but before anything of the sort can happen, they hear Jaesa’s voice interrupting them.  
“Master, I have located the area where I believe our target should be at.”

Zal blinks and looks over her shoulder towards her apprentice.  
“What? Already?”

“Yes, it was quite simple.”

“What makes you believe that you’ve located them?”

“I sense the largest gathering for natures of paranoia, fear and suspicion at the stern section of the ship. There are many possible reasons for this, of course, but seeing as the crew has likely been informed of our arrival, I believe it is the only conclusion that can be made.”

The twi’lek frowns slightly. It’s unfortunate that Jaesa said the direction out loud, because even if they disallow Marr from coming with them, he’ll still know where they’re going.  
The Councilor himself soon speaks up.  
“Well, it appears you have a location then, Wrath. The question now regards how you are willing to proceed.”

Zal turns to glare at him again and clenches one of her fists, but tries to keep herself calm.  
“Very well, I can permit that you join my investigation, but I demand that any other individuals are kept out of this. They must not interfere nor be around the regions of the ship that we search.”

“Agreed. I shall have my personnel evacuate most of the whatever section that you deem necessary and we shall search the ship room to room.”

“Since we have to actually speak to the people, it would be best if they can be confined to quarters or something similar.”

“That can be arranged.”

Marr steps back and lifts his hand towards his comm unit to give orders, while Zal exhales briefly and glances at Jaesa.  
“You should lead the way, as you are more aware of what our direction will be.”

“Yes, master. It would be best if the crew does not move around too much but, for now, I believe I am able to track them down without too much trouble.”  
  


* * *

  
When the three Sith wanders the halls of the ship, most of the corridors has been cleared out after Marr ordered them to do so. For the most part, he stays quiet while he lets the two women take the lead, although it is not out of submission. It is very likely that he wishes to observe them and judge their motives. Because of this, he merely stays at their side and answer questions when necessary.

This attitude changes somewhat when they proceed along the path ahead and without actually entering any of the rooms, they suddenly see someone walking ahead of them. It’s a woman, human by the looks of it, with short pale blonde hair and light skin, dressed in what appears to be the uniform of a maintenance worker.  
Marr raises his deep commanding voice, which echoes across the hallway.  
“Crewman!”

She’s still about a hundred meters away, but she twitches and turns in their direction, a slight look of fear on her face.  
“D-Darth Marr?”

“What are you doing out here? I gave the order that everyone must relocate to their own quarters.”

She glances around searchingly, seemingly panicking somewhat.  
“I uh, I was trying to find…some of my equipment.”

“Equipment? What could you possibly need when your only assignment is to get into your cabin?”

She nibbles at her lips and falters somewhat.  
“Well, there was something I wanted to fix while I had the chance, so…”

Zal mostly look annoyed at this entire situation, but as they get closer, Jaesa appears distant, as if she’s sensing something. When she has what she needs, she gazes at Zal.  
“Master, I…I think that’s her. I think she may be our target. Or one of them, at least.”

The twi’lek’s eyes sharpens when she glances at Jaesa.  
“You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

Zal shifts the position of her hand to point at the woman.  
“You, stop right there! We need to speak with you right away. Cooperate and no harm will come to you.”  
The woman appears even more surprised at this, but instead of doing as she’s told, she immediately darts to the side, trying to make for the corridor she just left. Zal tries to reach out and capture her with the Force, but this person, whomever she is, manages to quickly dodge and avoid Zal’s grasp.  
“Dammit. I hate it when they’re slippery.”

Marr turns to look at her.  
“And how do you wish to proceed?”

Zal doesn’t wait to give much of a verbal response, as she instead launches herself with the aid of the Force, charging a few meters ahead of the two others and gets into running speed. Seeing this as answer enough, Marr and Jaesa immediately follows suit.  
They pursue their target through the corridor, but she has immediately run past a corner on the other side and seems to make an effort of trying to shake them off. The difficulty in doing this of course, is that the Sith can now sense her through her emotional state, at least at this range.

She takes them away from the staff quarters and instead towards some kind of administrative facility inside the ship.  
After she passes through the opposite exit to this room, she slams her hand against the wall on the side and a force field erupts in between her and the Sith.  
Zal’s frown deepens.  
“You think this will keep us away for long? Surrender now, or my power _will_ descend upon you when we break free.”

“I’ll take my chances”, she yells from the other side, but by the tone of her voice, she doesn’t seem particularly confident.

The room is soon filled with noises of some kind of alarm and they look around.  
“It appears she has initiated the emergency security response”, Marr states, without any particular distress in his voice.

Zal turns to look at him.  
“Can you shut it down?”

“Not from here.”

“But you are the commander of this ship, right? Would they attack you?”

Another door slides open on the far side of several desks with terminals, and a bunch of battle droids walk inside, guns from their arms raised in the Sith’s directions.  
“They would if they have been tampered with.”

Not wanting to wait around to see what the droids intend to do, all three of them pull out their lightsabers and seconds after, blaster fire begins raining down on them. There’s no more than half a dozen droids right now, but reinforcements seem to be arriving not long after. Thanks to their skills, they manage to deflect most of the bolts for now, but it’s not as easy to direct them while they have to contend with so many.  
“So, you were doubtful of my intentions earlier, Marr. What about now? Have I proven that something is going on in your damn ship?”

His voice comes out as a mutter, only barely audible to her.  
“You may have had a point, I suppose.”

While they bicker a bit, Jaesa looks towards the force field, where the woman disappears.  
“Master, our target is running! She’s going to get away!”

Marr isn’t facing that direction, but he speaks with some confidence anyhow.  
“If she takes herself in that route, it is very possible. She may get access to either a shuttle in a nearby hangar, or one of the escape pods.”

Zal snorts.  
“If she wants to get out of here, she would probably take a shuttle, unless your escape pods are equipped with hyperspace drives.”

“Not as far as I’m aware, so your assessment seems plausible.”

Zal emits a sharp grunt, that almost sounds like a growl instead, and tries to back off while she continues to block the bolts.  
“Cover me! I’ll give us a chance to pursue her.”

Marr and Jaesa does as she asks, stepping in front of her to block the droids’ passage. Marr uses this opportunity to direct one bolt in the direction of his enemies and actually strikes a leg upon one, making it trip somewhat, but he doesn’t have much chance to finish it.  
In the meantime, Zal strides towards the force field, or at least a few meters away and raises the hand she does not hold her lightsaber in. She concentrates, her eyes locked at the entrance and slowly begins to close her hand. Her fingers bend somewhat, as if she’s clawing at the force field and while at first nothing happens, soon enough, whining and screeching noises can be heard from the opening.

When Jaesa gets a quick glimpse of what’s going on, she sees how Zal isn’t actually trying to destroy the force field itself, but rather put the pressure of the Force upon the frame of the doorway. Any normal strength from most humanoids, even cyborgs, would not be able to destroy it, but the brutal power of the Force is far above anything normal people can accomplish. Even so, what Zal is doing right now is not something that most are capable of succeeding with.  
It does seem that whatever she’s doing is taking a certain toll out of her as well, as her arm is shaking and the stress shows upon her contorted face. After creating enough pressure however, she gathers it all in her hand, pulls her arm back somewhat and slams it in the direction of the doorway. After all the strain she had already put on the metal, it almost explodes when she gives it a last shove and the frame leaves its hinges, shutting off the force field and slams across the other side of the hallway outside the room.

Marr snorts in amusement when he notices what happened.  
“Hmm. Impressive.”

Zal ignores him and peers at her apprentice.  
“Jaesa! Chase after her, while me and Marr take care of the droids. Do not kill her, as we need her for questioning!”

Jaesa closes her lightsaber and starts running.  
“Yes, master! Stay safe!”

Zal is just in time for reinforcement droids to arrive, but to their surprise, she uses the Force to grab one droid and knock it straight into two more before she lifts her own weapon.  
“Hope you don’t mind me trashing your ship a little bit, Marr.”

“I‘m going to assume that the Emperor intends to reimburse me.”

The twi’lek grins in return as she deflects a few shots.  
“We will see what happens after we’ve finished our investigation, won’t we?”

In the meantime, just as Jaesa gets outside the office where the fight happens, she gathers some of the Force around her and increases her running capabilities, which is something she has learned from Zal how to successfully accomplish. It may be temporary, but she only needs a little bit in order to catch up.  
When she finally does a minute or so later, the other human has already managed to run quite far, and is on the entrance to a hangar bay which is shut and locked at this time. She unlocks it rather easily, although when she hears foot steps behind her, she turns on her heel and raises a blaster pistol from her belt, immediately starting to fire. As she already has her lightsaber within her grasp, Jaesa quickly ignites and raises it to block every shot launched at her.

Once the blast door slides open behind her, the woman or traitor or whomever she is, doesn’t stop and backs off into the hangar. She grabs a thermal detonator from her belt and tosses it in Jaesa’s direction, while she continues to shoot. As the Sith doesn’t want to get hit, she can’t just launch the explosive back at her and therefore knocks it to the side as best as she can, while she jumps backwards.

The explosion erupts in the corridor, filling the area with smoke. For the woman, this turns out to be somewhat unfortunate, as she has no idea what happened to her opponent or if she’s even still alive. She fires a few more shots while she continues to back off and then immediately swirl around and starts running, ignoring the risks entirely. The shuttle she wants to take is only a few hundred meters away and she makes her way in that direction instead of caring about if her weapons actually hit their mark. Once she’s in the shuttle, it’s not like the Sith will have much chance to stop her anyway.

She makes it all the way to the shuttle without any problems and pushes a button nearby the hatch on its side. It slowly slides open, much to her frustration, and she actually tries to jump in when enough room has been given.  
However, as she takes her first step on the metal of the floor, she gasps as she feels something around her. It’s as if someone puts a sharp pull on her waist, although she feels no hands that she can push away. Moments after, she is yanked backwards and she gasps as she flies through the air and lands hard back on the ground of the dreadnought. In the fall, she drops her weapon as well, as it slides across the floor.

Her eyes are closed out of the pain she suffered on impact and when next she opens them, the light of a deadly weapon is turned right in her face, and Jaesa’s angry eyes looks into hers.  
“I can’t allow you to escape that easily. I also suggest that you surrender, as I don’t wish to needlessly harm you right now.”

There’s still fear swirling in her mind but, the other woman’s appearance shows little of that.  
“You…you won’t get anything out of me, Sith.”

“Maybe not, but I don’t intend to interrogate you right here.”

“I’m useless to you, so you might as well kill me!”

Jaesa arches her brow, just a little bit amused, and then she shuts off her weapon. Her opponent makes a move as if to stand up, but Jaesa is quick to descend with a knee right over her chest.  
“I doubt that will be necessary. You will be coming with me to meet the Emperor’s Wrath.”

Those two words makes the woman hesitate and a bit of fear slips through.  
“She…she won’t get anything out of me either.”

“We will see. Now, will you stand up and let me guide you back or will I have to drag you?”

She swallows, unsure for how to act here. After a few moments, she sighs and puts her hands away on the floor.  
“I…I surrender.”

“That is a wise decision.”

Jaesa gets the woman up on her feet, grabs one of her arms to put behind her back and then leads her right towards where they left Marr and Zal.  
Thankfully, the fight has already ended and the two taller Sith meet her halfway there. Zal scowls momentarily in their target’s direction, as the woman lowers her eyes to the ground and then looks at her apprentice.  
“Well done, Jaesa. I knew you’d get to her.”

“It was a close call, but she underestimated me, I believe.”

Marr is facing the woman as they approach the duo and he folds his arms when he’s close enough.  
“Hold on, you are no maintenance personnel. This is Lieutenant Kaithlyn Seras, one of my security officers.”

The officer herself does not look up at her superior, at least not for now. Zal snorts and places her hands at her hips.  
“Well well, would you look at that? Seems you have people more involved with this crime than you thought. Not that it matters – we will need to interrogate her either way.”

Marr moves towards Zal.  
“Wrath, she is one of my officers, and someone I know by name. I demand to know what kind of crime it is that she has committed before I allow any such measures.”

“Demand? Is it not proof enough that she is guilty of something, when she runs at the sight of us?”

“Running does not specify guilt – particularly not when I still don’t know what it is you are accusing her of. How can I be sure that this is not simply some scheme to get rid of my staff and diminish my assets?”

Zal sighs.  
“You think we would target just _one_ of your officers if that is what we wanted? I would’ve taken down your ship if that was the case.”

“Your complaint is noted but irrelevant. I have no knowledge of what she knows, which may be exactly what you’re after. This will be a whole lot easier for you, if you simply tell me what’s going on.”

Her frustration is growing more and more in his vicinity and even as she realizes how foolish it would be to fight him, she never quite understood how tiring it can be to deal with situations like these.  
“Alright, dammit! Have it your way.”  
She closes the distance between them even further and her face is practically on his mask at this point.  
“A servant of the Emperor has been murdered, Marr and our investigations led us to this ship. Do you understand? One of your own may be involved in the killing of those who serve our master. Do you realize how suspicious it seems every time you push back and try to stop us from getting to what we need now? Unless you want me to attempt a similar arrest with you, I suggest you seize this effort _immediately.”_

Whether he actually comprehends what’s happening or not is difficult to say without facial expressions but, from his silence, it is likely that it is sinking in somewhat. When next he speaks, he does sound very calm, at least.  
“I see. Well then, I realize the gravity of the situation and why you’ve been so adamant to look around my ship.  
Very well, as I have no intention of trying to aid traitors to the Empire, I will, of course, allow you to continue with the interrogation.”

Zal nods sharply.  
“Finally. Thank you for seeing reason.”

There’s dread displayed on their captive’s features, as she realizes what likely will happen to her. If she’s an agent of someone, she’s not very good at that kind of job.  
When Zal turns towards her however, Jaesa is eyeing the woman she’s still holding onto in thought, before she turns towards Zal.  
“Master, may I make a suggestion?”

“Of course. Go on.”

“Would it possible for me to perform the necessary interrogation? I believe I can access the information we need without giving Darth Marr’s officer any lasting damage.”

Zal arches one of her brows and then looks back at Marr. He simply shrugs.  
“If she is a traitor, does that matter?”

“We do not know that for certain just yet, so I figured you may be glad to hear that you will have her back intact, and can utilize or punish her as you wish afterwards.”

Marr folds his arms, seeming to contemplate the suggestion.  
“I…suppose that would be a reasonable way to deal with this situation. If Lord Wrath agrees, that is.”

Zal turns to Jaesa, facing her and tries to assess her expression. Most of all, she merely attempts to understand her apprentice without asking her outright. She doesn’t want any weakness to be shown for Marr, after all. As Jaesa doesn’t show any immediate doubts, she nods.  
“Very well, I will permit it. If you do not have the answers within a few hours however, I will have to join you.”

“Of course, master. I shall not disappoint you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, there'll be one more Zal chapter to show the conclusion of this next time._


	34. A first seal (SW)

As Jaesa moves off to handle the interrogation with Lieutenant Seras, Zal’riva spends a few hours trying to entertain herself. At first, she checks reports on her datapad that she may need in the future, the status of the war and other important matters, but her mind soon slips away from such concerns and she shifts towards personal issues instead.  
She accesses some of the archived mails she has placed in this device and looks through old private messages, ones between her and Ktila. She can’t actually send or receive anything out here, as that would be too risky. Marr might get ahold of such a message and she does not want to risk it.  
She realizes that it’s foolish to sit here and linger on past events, as that will only make her long to be at her companion’s side even more, but she can’t help it. Maybe someday they won’t have to rely on memories like these. For now, though, it manages to bring a smile to her lips at least. 

Once the hours have gone by and Zal wonders if she should interfere, the door to the interrogation cell suddenly slides open and Jaesa steps out. The human appears unchanged from how she was before she went in, but Zal can sense that there’s something troubling her.  
“It’s done?”

“Yes, master. I have the information we need.”

“Good. Come with me.”  
The twi’lek gestures with her hand and continues through the hall they’re currently in, taking her to another room. In here, Zal has disabled all of the possible listening devices that she could locate and when the door is closed, she believes they can speak at least somewhat freely.  
They sit down on some chairs together, close to a small table. Zal places a hand on Jaesa’s shoulder.  
“Are you alright, darling? I know you haven’t done this alone before.”

Jaesa sighs, shoulders slumping as she closes her eyes.  
“I’m fine, for the most part. It was quite…arduous though. She put up a lot more of a fight than I thought she would.”

“Did you have to hurt her?”

“No, I didn’t. She should be fine mentally as well, as I don’t have the ability to harm her that way. I managed to utilize some verbal tricks that Vette and Quinn have taught me, which seemed to work.”

Zal places her other hand around Jaesa’s hand and squeezes it gently.  
“You did good, dear. I knew you would make it.”

Despite being sort of faint, Jaesa does smile a little bit.  
“Thank you, master. Your support means a lot.”  
It soon disperses as she exhales audibly again.  
“Unfortunately, I have news that may be…quite bad.”

“I figured as much. Do you want to take a break before we get into it? I could find you something to eat and drink.”

“No…thank you, but I think it is best if we speak of this as soon as possible. I’m not sure what…other parties in this ship might do if we wait too long.”

This is of course what Zal was already thinking, but she still needed to make sure that Jaesa feels well. Her apprentice’s welfare is important to her.  
“Alright, whenever you’re ready then.”

Jaesa takes a couple of deep breaths and tries to focus her mind before she says anything.  
“Right. After a thorough investigation of everything that Kaithlyn told me, I now believe that she is not the one responsible for the murder, but she’s still involved. Her true allegiance is to another Sith and she has helped attain certain information through her station as one of the officers on this ship.  
She works for a man known as ‘Lord Qet’. He’s the true culprit in the matter, but she helped him from the shadows.”

The twi’lek begins to scowl as she hears this, as she’s certainly aware of the name.  
“Wait, are you sure?”

“Positive. The Lieutenant wasn’t lying from everything that I could read of her, with my abilities.”

“Then…what was she doing on this ship? What information could she possibly get here?”

“Not here. As one of Marr’s officers, she could gain access to information elsewhere, which others couldn’t, by using his name. If she needed to hide, it was very easy to do so under Marr, because he is notorious for protecting his assets from other Sith. If she was discreet, he would never notice.”

Zal lifts a hand to stroke her chin in thought.  
“And you’re certain that Marr himself wasn’t involved?”

“Kaithlyn doesn’t believe he was, but even she doesn’t know everything.”

Zal lets out a sigh and shakes her head as she contemplates the implications.  
“Dammit…this just got a lot more complicated.”

“Why? Do you recognize the name of this Sith?”

“Yes, I do. You should too, although perhaps you didn’t actually speak with him.”

Jaesa blinks in confusion.  
“…wait, what? Are you saying we’ve met him?”

“We have, although it was months ago since I last saw him.  
Lord Qet is one of Vowrawn’s subordinates and former apprentices. He was the tall human with the short black hair who went with his master during our mission on Corellia, when we were still fighting Baras.”

A flash of realization appears in Jaesa’s eyes, as she recalls him.  
“Oh…damn. I never asked for his name.”

“I wanted to make sure who we were dealing with, so I tried to learn all their names.  
Because of this, I’m not so sure if Marr is innocent after all.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’ve spoken to Valcera about him and Vowrawn. According to her, those two work quite closely together and may have done so for years. It may not appear that way on the surface, but they’re hiding it quite well, with constant bickering.”

Jaesa looks quite unsure.  
“That…is very troubling indeed. What shall we do, master?”

“We will have to confront him, but do so in a clever way, which makes it possible for us to corner him. He’s quite slippery, just like Vowrawn. If either of them are working together in this matter, I need to push him to tell me.”

“Well, whatever you intend, I am ready to back you up, of course.”

“I know, dear.”  
She smiles and raises her hand to caress Jaesa’s cheek.  
“You should know that I’m proud of you. You did very well here. I always knew you had the skills to help us achieve our goals, but this was tremendously well done. I shall have to find some way to reward you for it.”

Jaesa returns the expression and shakes her head lightly.  
“I don’t require any rewards, master, but it’s nice to know that my skills are appreciated.”

“Oh, don’t you worry, I’ll find something. If we actually get out of here alive, we should at least start with some celebration. Perhaps I’ll take you to one of those bakeries that Vette keeps talking about.”

Jaesa chuckles.  
“I think she’d like that. I wouldn’t mind a slice of cake either.”

“I’ll see what I can do for you, then.”

\-----

Together, the two women approaches Marr’s office, where they know he’s waiting. The guards step aside at their approach, as there’s not much else to do. They could try to stand in Zal’s way but, they know how foolish it would be to challenge the Emperor’s Wrath.  
Once they enter, the Councilor himself is standing by desk, instead of sitting, reading something on a datapad. It might be that he’s about to leave, but those plans change now, of course.  
“Ah, Wrath, there you are. Has your apprentice achieved what was required of her?”

Neither Zal nor Jaesa say anything once they’re in, and Zal locks the door behind them. She’s pretty certain that Marr wouldn’t allow any listening devices in here, unless he absolutely needed them. Maybe he has prepared some for this meeting, but she’s going to give it a try anyhow.  
She straightens herself and moves ahead of her apprentice.  
“I realize you may see this as threatening, but we need to talk.”

“An interesting approach for a simple conversation.”

“It might be more than that, depending on what you say.”

He puts down the datapad and then folds his arms.  
“I see. I hope you realize that trying anything in here would be foolish.”

Zal rolls her eyes.  
“If I wanted you dead, Marr, I would’ve attacked you already and not bothered with slowing down.”

“That is debatable. But, I am willing to listen.”

“And speak as well, I hope, because I require certain information from you.”

“We will see what happens, won’t we?”

She sighs and then walks forward, enough for there to not be more than a few meters between them now and places her hands at her hips.  
“Jaesa has interrogated your Lieutenant, and have given me enough intel that would aid me in pinpointing a culprit.”

The apprentice speaks up as well.  
“Your officer is intact, my lord, both in body and mind.”

He waves his hand to dismiss it, although it’s doubtful whether he doesn’t care for her, or if he simply pretends not to.  
“What did she say?”

Zal continues.  
“She has accused another Sith of being responsible – a man by the name of Lord Qet.”

Marr remains silent for a few seconds, enough to show that it does make an impact.  
“Impossible. What proof do you have of this?”

“She confessed to me after a few hours of talking to her and showed me some of the encrypted messages sent in between them”, Jaesa responds.

“Such things can be altered and would not be enough for me to acknowledge as actual proof.”

“I realize this, Darth Marr, but my abilities makes me able to sense a person’s nature and if utilized correctly, I can distinguish a lie from the truth. Everything I saw and heard made it obvious to me that she was not lying.”

Zal nods in agreement.  
“If there’s anyone I would always believe to tell me the truth, it is Jaesa. If she is sure that her findings are correct, then I trust her.”

Marr continues to stare at her for a few moments, or at least he faces her. That damn mask, always covering his intentions.  
“It still seems unlikely. Lord Qet is no one – he would not dare oppose the Emperor in such a way.”

“Perhaps not, but his master certainly would.”

“Vowrawn?” He snorts. “He does not have the strength to clash with the Emperor either.”

“He might not, but he certainly has the guile and intelligence to start an operation which would undermine the Emperor’s position, while also covering his tracks. Do not pretend as if he couldn’t or wouldn’t.”

A few more seconds of silence, while Marr either hesitates or explores his options inwardly.  
“You realize what it would mean to accuse a Dark Councilor of conspiring against the Emperor, do you not?”

“Of course I do, but if it is warranted, then I have every right. Vowrawn could of course try to stop me, as could you, but I doubt the rest of the Council would get on your side if the facts were revealed.”

“The only facts you have at the moment are fragile at best, and far from enough to actually take him down.”

Zal frowns and closes the distance between them even further. She places a hand at his desk.  
“But enough to start a thorough investigation, unless you’re saying that you wouldn’t want me to.”

“I haven’t claimed to oppose your wish in this matter at all.”

“Haven’t you?”  
She leans back from the desk, but remains where she is.  
“Correct me if I’m mistaken, Marr, but is it not true that you and Vowrawn have been partnered on several occasions during your career in the Dark Council?”

His hands are somewhat hidden by his arms, but Zal can clearly see that Marr clenches them.  
“Excuse me? Are you accusing me of cooperating with his supposed crime, Wrath?”

“Nothing of the sort. I merely wish to know all the details.”

“Your implications here certainly make it seem as a threat, though, while the only thing I’ve done so far is dismiss your lack of evidence.”

She feels herself getting angrier as well, but tries to remember what Val has told her. Marr and Vowrawn plays a lot of political games and are very good at manipulating the people who try to work against them. She only has to be careful and continue pushing.  
“Then you better listen up to what I’m saying, instead of what you believe I’m implying, Marr.  
I’m trying to point out that if you have worked with him in the past, then surely you would know if he had the capacity to do something like this?”

“Perhaps I would, but I already told you that I doubt he would be involved. His strength, both in the Force and in resources, are not enough to challenge someone as powerful as the Emperor.”

“And what if he had more on his side? Do you think he could do it?”

“That would depend upon who it is that works with him.”

Zal closes her eyes for just a moment and shakes her head. More evasion, just like she thought.  
“Alright, then let us not assume that someone like Vowrawn would aim to take the Emperor down, but rather take advantage of an opportunity during the Emperor’s absence. Do you believe he’s capable of this?”

“The Emperor is absent? He may not speak to us much as of late, but we have heard nothing about him being completely gone.”

“Stop avoiding the question, Marr! Do you believe he would do this or not?”

Marr is a difficult man to read, even when it comes to conversations. He gives the appearance of being blunt and simple, but it’s clearly a façade. She hopes that Jaesa is using her abilities to see through his mental disguise at this time.  
“I would not know, Wrath, because I am not involved.”

“That’s a lie and you know this. Perhaps you’re not involved personally, but you are certainly familiar enough with him that you could tell me what you believe.  
Or shall I ask Darth Imperius to come and give her opinion on the matter?”

By the tension in the air, it’s clear that she’s somewhat hitting the right spots.  
“You’ve spoken with her, have you?”

“I’m sure you already know that I’m acquainted with her. If there’s anyone with a sliver of being trustworthy in the Council, it is her and she has told me quite a few things.”

Further silence plays out for a few more seconds, as Marr may be weighing his options. Then, thankfully, she hears a sigh with a hint of defeat.  
“You are frustratingly persistent, Wrath.”

“I believe it’s one of my charming traits.”

“No matter what I tell you, I hope you understand I take no responsibility for it. I am not involved in this matter.”

She rolls her eyes and gestures impatiently for him to continue.  
“Yes yes, I know you’ve said this. Go on.”

“Very well, I suppose there is…a distinct possibility that Vowrawn would get involved with something along these lines. He has always been ambitious, cunning and has a great mind for long-term political strategies. He’s always working on some scheme to either undermine his rivals or strengthen his position. With the Emperor’s prolonged silence, it is very possible that he would attempt to act upon it, if given the chance.”

Zal nods and then glances over her shoulder at Jaesa. The apprentice inclines her head.  
“It is likely that he’s telling the truth, from what I can read of him, master. He still carries a deceptive nature, but not one that I believe interferes at this time.”

Marr snorts.  
“Foolishly blunt, but truthful. I suppose I can accept such a candid approach. At least it does not implicate me.”

The twi’lek shrugs.  
“Well, at least this means I do not have to fear for your involvement as well. For now, anyway.”

“For the time being, I intend to keep it that way. However, this might present us with an opportunity, Wrath.”

She arches a questioning brow.  
“What are you talking about?”

The other Sith begins to slowly stroll through the room.  
“How long is it that you have served the Emperor now? A few months at most?”

“It would be closer to several months by now.”

“Still less than a year. Would you say that you have any love for our Emperor?”

Her brow now furrows instead. He’s beginning to tread down an even more suspicious trail at this point.  
“What?”

“Would you claim that you have an ‘undying loyalty’ to him, as the rest of his servants?”

“I am his Wrath.”

“That may be, but a position does not gain one’s belief. A rank under servitude does not inspire loyalty. Power with heavy shackles does not build trust. Would you claim that you have any of these things for our Emperor?”

Zal continues to frown and slowly moves her arms to fold them.  
“What are you getting at, Marr? If you’re trying to implicate me as well at this point, you’re stupider than I thought.”

“Listen to what I’m saying, Wrath – accusations are not what I’m throwing at you, but choices.  
I have studied your file, read the reports on your actions and your previous endeavors. Nothing in what I’ve seen tells me that you care anything for him.  
In fact, I have heard what you’ve said and it seems clear to me that you would rather see a change in the Empire.”

“Perhaps I do. What of it?”

“You were right in what you said previously – I have worked with Vowrawn in the past, because we have similar goals. We too want a different Empire, one that operates through the strength of a shared belief and the truth of one’s abilities, as opposed to gaining power through treachery, which the Empire keeps trudging through.  
Our society needs to unify, but can we really do so under the Emperor? It is something we have continuously questioned, which he refuses to acknowledge. He has been absent for a long time and shows very little care for letting our Empire evolve.”

Fancy words and some she might be able to get behind, if he wasn’t Sith.  
“Inspiring ideals, Marr, but I don’t buy it. You’re a Dark Councilor and like many of those in power, you seek to keep it or gain even more. Taking down the Emperor would be the ultimate shift for this.”

Marr waves dismissively at her.  
“If I sought singular power for myself, I would have acted much sooner, and much more ambitiously. It is not my glorification I seek, but the general improvement of the Empire. And you do as well, don’t you? I doubt you have any love for what the Emperor has done.”

“The Emperor gave me a position to truly make some changes in our society, Marr. I am one who carries authority and demands respect. Why would I want to destroy the man who made this possible?”

He lifts a hand to point at her.  
“Because you have not forgotten your past. You were a slave, Zal’riva Vivees, since birth and spent two decades in such a life. You gave everything you had for the benefit of people that saw you as nothing more than cattle.  
This slavery, this unequal vision of what our worlds should look like and how our culture should operate, it was all part of what the Emperor wanted for us. Can you truly defend someone like him?  
The position you have been given is out of desperation, not the action of an enlightened individual. You are strong and he has finally acknowledged that far from only humans and purebloods are capable of this.”

Zal frowns at him, but mostly because it annoys her how he has a point.  
“I…suppose there is some truth in what you say.”

He turns slightly to face Jaesa as well.  
“And do not think I have forgotten you either. You are fairly adept at hiding your own nature, but I see through it. I do not need any special abilities for this, merely a way to study the way you act. You do not take the traditional ways of the Sith to heart – not as readily as you may make it appear.”  
He catches her off-guard and she widens her eyes, exposing some of her emotions. She immediately looks fairly hesitant.  
“Fear is unnecessary, Willsaam, as I have no intention of exposing you to others. I don’t even have proof of it at any rate, as it would merely be speculation on my part.”

Zal sighs in slight frustration.  
“What do you want, Marr? Is it a fight you want, after all? Or leverage to save your own skin?”

“No, I am not threatening you in any way, Wrath. I am trying to point out our obvious common grounds – I believe we can be allies. I know more of you than what you may believe. It is why neither me nor Vowrawn has attempted to undermine your effort ever since you gained this position. We both believe that your rise to power can only benefit the Empire.”

His honeyed words are appealing, but that’s likely what he wants it to appear as. She knows he manipulates, just as much as any of high ranking Sith but, he does appear somewhat reasonable as well.  
“I…suppose it would be unwise to oppose such claims, but how does this matter regarding my investigation? What is it you’re suggesting?”

“You may not wish to admit it, but I know that somewhere in your heart, you too wish to work against the Emperor, take him down for all he has done. I realize that this is not an easy issue that can be solved swiftly, but it is a common goal to work towards.”

“I cannot oppose the Emperor openly, you know this.”

“Of course, but that would be foolish. If Vowrawn truly is involved, then I shall speak with him and see what I can do. If you wish to aid him, however, then you can do so without any suspicion being aimed at you – blame someone else. Do not expose Vowrawn’s involvement whatsoever.”

Zal widens her eyes, and then looks around searchingly. He wants her to blatantly lie to the Emperor’s Hands? That is…something she hadn’t considered.  
“I…I don’t know. Who would I even redirect the blame towards?”

“Someone more appropriate. Dissenters in the Empire, perhaps? Those who seek the power of Vowrawn, myself or even Imperius? It is possible and quite useful.”

As he has stopped by now, it is her turn to begin pacing. She gets a glimpse of Jaesa as well, who looks just as troubled.  
“This is…an uncomfortable prospect for me, Marr. Rebelling against the Emperor is not a simple matter.”

“No one said it would be and I’m not trying to claim it will be easy to achieve. The Emperor is powerful – some say even nigh invincible – but that just means a unified effort is the only way to accomplish such a goal.  
He is one of the foremost people that stands in the way of a revolution in how we progress and therefore must be removed. With your help, it might be plausible.”

“And what if he finds out? He has wiped out the Dark Council before, if I’m not mistaken. He can do so again.”

“I will admit that this is a risk, but if we move swiftly, it is possible he might not even notice. It is either this, or accept that we will never evolve. The aspects you want to have removed – inequality, power struggles, slavery – it cannot be dealt with if we cannot seize control of our destiny.”

Zal frowns again, clenching her jaw slightly. How the hell did they get into this topic? From her intention to expose Marr’s involvement to flat-out contemplating treason. How far does this go? Is Val involved as well, or have they yet to approach her about this? Have the entire Council been planning this together? Seems unlikely that they’d be able to work together this well but, there’s always a chance. 

She exhales heavily and faces him.  
“Very well, you have my interest and my cooperation, Marr. I will let this slide and make sure that Vowrawn isn’t implicated, but you must talk to him and then find a way to establish communication with me in the future. I want to see how this turns out and if you can really keep yourself to these types of goals, or if you were simply lying the entire time.”

“I look forward to proving your mistrust wrong.”

Zal’s first step towards active defiance against the Emperor. She can hardly believe it’s true and that it’s about to occur, but somehow, it feels quite liberating. Perhaps the dream of a new Empire will be possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Right, and that's this mini arc done._   
>  _Was Marr actually ever involved in the murder of the Emperor's servant? We'll never know. Or well, I do, but that's my little secret._
> 
> _Next time, I'm going to write a chapter with Ktila. No Zal/Ktila fluff just yet, but I'm getting to that eventually. Be patient! I don't want to rush into it._


	35. Across the river (JK)

On board the Shielded Path, in between missions, it’s rare for Kira and Scourge to spend any time around each other. They barely even enter the same room and most of the crew tries to accommodate their preferences. It has become an expected reaction that they annoy one another to such a degree that they are sometimes on the verge of igniting their lightsabers. Most of the time, the duo is pleased that the rest realizes it’s best to not to provoke anything or even help out to keep them apart. However, this arrangement cannot last forever, which is something that a particular individual on board is very well aware of.

After breakfast on this day, Kira heads towards Ktila’s cabin, because the Jedi Master had asked to speak with her in private. There hadn’t been any explanation for why, but Kira doesn’t specifically need one. If Ktila needs to talk with her, it doesn’t matter what topic it is. They’re friends, perhaps even family, and Kira is there for her no matter what.   
However, once she arrives outside the door, she feels a combination of disappointment and irritation when she sees another person standing outside of it – it’s none other than Scourge.

“Hey, what are you doing here? I need to speak with Ktila.”

The Sith glances over his shoulder, with only the slightest of frowns upon his brow.  
“You will have to wait – she called me over earlier, and asked me to talk with her in private.”

Kira widen her eyes in surprise.   
“What? No, that’s-…she asked me the same thing.”

He arches one of his brow stalks questioningly.  
“Clearly, there must have been some mistake. She wouldn’t ask me to join if you are here. You probably received the wrong time.” 

Kira frowns and folds her arms.  
“I did not! She told me that I should come over right after breakfast and that’s right now. Why would you think she’d wanna talk to you more than me anyway, huh? She’s my friend – you’re just here out of convenience.”

“Friendship does not matter. If she had something important to discuss, that would take precedence over any frivolous conversation with you.”

“Maybe what she wanted to talk with me about was important too! Did you consider that, asshole?”

He sighs at her insult, as it’s usually the type of manners she employs.   
“Let us ask her directly and you will see I was correct.”

He gestures for the door and Kira follows, refusing to be left behind. If she’s too slow, it’s likely that he’ll try to convince Ktila of something and she can’t allow that to happen.  
However, when they enter, they don’t find Ktila working, reading or doing much at all. In fact, she’s sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, with two more chairs placed right in front of hers.   
While spotting them, she nods and looks at them expectantly.   
“Finally, you’re here. Please, have a seat.”

Kira continues to seem confused, while Scourge looks sort of annoyed.  
“There must have been a mistake, Jedi. You somehow asked both of us to come.”

Ktila briefly shakes her head.  
“No, there’s been no mistake. I wanted to have a discussion between the three of us. I knew I couldn’t tell either of you what was happening though, so I had to relay it separately.”

There’s a few moments of silence afterwards, as the realization of the truth sinks in, before they decide to explode.  
“What?! Ktila, c’mon, why would you do this? You know we can’t have this bastard here with us! All he ever does is pick a fight, constantly!”

Scourge rolls his eyes in annoyance.  
“That is because you either misinterpret my criticism or get too offended by it, like most Jedi. But, you’re right, it’s better if you leave.”

“No, you’re the one who should fucking leave! In fact, while you’re at it, throw yourself out the airlock! Then at least we’ll be rid of you.”

“So, now you’re asking me to do it, instead of attempting to perform the deed yourself? I suppose your power remains inferior compared to mine.”

Kira clenches her hand as the tension grows even thicker.   
“See? There you go at it again! You just can’t stop goading me, can you? One of these days, you’re going to regret it!”

He slowly turns to face her, seeming fairly unimpressed.  
“And when is that? You continuously make me wait and you appear to be nothing more than talk, Carsen. Your bravado and slew of insults are thoroughly unremarkable.”

“Oh yeah?! You want me to-“

_“Enough!”_  
Ktila’s shout immediately shuts both of them up and the chiss has stood up to get their full attentions.  
“Look at what you’re doing! You can’t even be in the same room for more than a few seconds before you’re at each other’s throats! This is the exact reason I asked you to come, without the rest having to watch us talk about this.”  
She sighs, closes her eyes and crosses her arms.  
“You have to realize that you can’t continue arguing this way forever. It’s destructive, foolish and unnecessary. We have to find some way to allow you both to come to some kind of understanding. That’s not an unreasonable request, is it?”

A few seconds of silence passes by as they contemplate her words, before Kira shakes her head.  
“I dunno, it might be. I can’t concentrate when he’s around me. It’s like getting smoke up your nostrils – you’re gonna start coughing eventually.”

Her metaphor doesn’t appear to please Scourge either.  
“As stupid as she is, the little Jedi does have a point. Even if you wish to find some way for us to cooperate, Ktila, the chances of this succeeding are minimal and I’d like to keep them that way.”

Ktila sits down and gestures with one hand at the chairs.  
“Sit down.”

“But-“, Kira tries.

“I said _sit down._ Please, do as I say. Don’t make me drag you both in here.”  
Even though they hesitate and consider disobeying her, neither of them have the courage for it. As kind and understand as Ktila can be, she’s also powerful and not one you want to anger.   
When they’ve sat down in a chair each, she regards both of them with a contemplative stare.  
“Let’s start with something simple, alright? I want you both to tell me why you think that I allow the other one to stay. Not that difficult, right? Scourge, why do you think I want Kira on my ship?”

He raises one of his brow stalks for a moment, before he shrugs somewhat nonchalantly. He finds this exercise, or whatever it is, to be fruitless, but he has no other choice than playing along.   
“It’s hard to tell entirely, but if I had to guess, I would say it is because of her fighting skills. As foolish, naïve and impulsive as she may be, I suppose I can acknowledge that her skills are useful. And perhaps you require a Jedi with you as well. I have seen that many Jedi prefer the company of their own, out of convenience.”

Ktila doesn’t display any obvious signs whether he’s right or wrong, as she instead looks to the other Jedi.  
“And why do you think that I let Scourge stay on the Shielded Path, Kira?”

Kira snorts derisively.  
“I’m guessing it’s not to have a punching bag, as you haven’t used him as that yet, so it’s probably just as a precaution. He knows a lot about the Emperor and if that scum is still alive out there, we will need this guy. And I guess you can also easier keep an eye on Scourge while he’s around, and make sure he doesn’t start attacking the Republic.”

If she attempted to provoke Scourge, it doesn’t seem to work, as it rarely does. He continues to watch Ktila.  
“So, is this where you tell us that we’re both wrong and you give us some excuse which shows us your compassion and understanding?”

Ktila sighs, knowing that either of them would say this. Although, to be fair, she figured it would be far more likely that Scourge would.  
“Despite how you may feel for one another, I have allowed both of you to stay on this ship because I want you to and because I care about you. And no, that’s not a lie – if you still believe that Scourge, then try to properly listen to me instead of following your suspicions.”  
The Sith scowls, but he doesn’t comment.  
“You both matter and you’re important to me and this crew. Without either of you, I don’t think we’d be able to accomplish everything that we have so far, but it’s only because we can work together so well. I assume that you are both professional enough to keep any arguments out of the way when we’re in battle, but I get the sense it diminishes our efficiency. That’s why we have to solve this.”

Kira shrugs.  
“Why? It’s not like it’s gonna make us worse at what we do.”

“We cannot be sure of that, Kira. The three of us are the Force users on this ship and it’s rare for so many to travel together in this fashion. This means we need to find some means of getting along. It’s entirely feasible to believe that this is impossible but, I’m going to give it a try regardless.”

Scourge shakes his head.  
“You have shown to be consistently stubborn, which means that this choice does not surprise me.”

“Good, I don’t mind being predictable as long as it means that you two work better together.”

Kira looks down at the floor.  
“Don’t get your hopes up…”

“This is why I wanted all three of us to speak, instead of meeting each of you separately. I want you both to hear what the other says, which might give you the opportunity of understanding one another.   
I want you to explain to me why it is that you dislike each other so much and I want you to be entirely honest, or as much as you think is possible. You are both quick to speak your minds anyway, so that shouldn’t be a difficult task.”

They’re both quiet for a few seconds after letting Ktila speak, and it seems that they may refuse to get into it after all. However, Kira decides to break the silence.  
“Alright, you wanna know why I don’t like him? It’s simple – he’s an asshole and he’s so blatantly…Sith.”

“You may have to elaborate a bit, Kira. At least on that second part.”

She sighs heavily and rubs her forehead.  
“It should be obvious, right? This guy is the very epitome of what Sith stand for, as he cares for nothing but death, destruction and his own power. I despise his way of thinking and how easily he disregards others.”

Scourge is facing Ktila, but he watches Kira from the edge of his vision. For now, though, he doesn’t comment.   
Ktila tilts her head curiously.  
“I…suppose I can see why you’d feel that way and I admit that I’m no big fan of that mindset either. It’s one of the big problems we have to deal with from those we fight. However, do you think it’s impossible to ever coexist with Sith?”

“No, not entirely, but it is with this guy. He’s a pureblood and all of them are assholes. I met a few back in my days in the Sith Academy and they’re just…” she tries to find the right word, but can only shake her head. “I can’t deal with them. They’re too much Sith and care for no one else. So far, I haven’t seen any difference between them and Scourge.”

Ktila nods, but not to show she agrees, only that she understands Kira’s outlook.  
“I see. What about a few other Sith then, like Zal’riva or Jaesa? Do you feel the same way about them?”

“What? No, of course not! But they’re not even close to being the same.”

“What about Praven? He’s a pureblood too. Do you look at him in the same manner as Scourge?”

Kira gives the impression of being a little bit annoyed, although it’s unclear if it’s because of her own words or Ktila’s.  
“…he’s an exception.”

“Are you saying they’re not Sith?”

“Well…”  
She scratches her neck in thought.  
“I mean, yeah, they’re Sith, but they’re different. All of them chose to take a stand for something else and they don’t want to follow the cruel guidelines of the Emperor.”

“Would you say that they regard themselves as something else than Sith? Are Zal and Jaesa opposed to the Empire rather than a part of it?”

Kira’s hesitation increases and she can’t properly make eye contact with Ktila.  
“Well erm…no. They have always called themselves Sith and citizens of the Empire, but…you know, they come closer to our mindsets than anything else.”

“But they don’t care for the Republic – in fact, Zal has no qualms with fighting it, as long as it keeps the Empire safe.”

Kira remains in the same position as before and she bites her own lip for a moment.  
“True, I guess…”

“Would you so easily dismiss either of them for what they believe? Sure, they’re not the same people as Scourge, but you and I aren’t the same as Iron’zeranz or Jaric Kaedan, right?   
Should we punish our friends for being Sith too?”

Kira’s gaze is stuck on the floor, and her resistance against what Ktila has to say is gradually met with an inevitable defeat.  
“…no…”

She doesn’t say it outright, but Ktila’s point about not judging all Sith equally, nor to make assumptions about people without good reason, hits home.   
“I understand how you feel, Kira, but Sith are not all as clear-cut as many Jedi may believe. Even if you disagree, Scourge has managed to give me that impression as well.”

He nods in agreement.  
“Indeed. Despite what Kira may assume of me, I care for more things than death and power. I may not tell her this, but that does not mean it is not true.”

Ktila was glad to open the way for Kira to hopefully understand a little bit better, but she immediately turns to confront the Sith as well.  
“Alright, then perhaps you should explain the same thing to Kira, Scourge. Why do you dislike her?”

“Does it really need to be explained? Her response to your initial question should’ve made it obvious enough.”

“Indulge me.”

He exhales audibly and shakes his head.  
“Very well, if that’s what you prefer.   
It is just as simple for me – your former padawan is an incompetent, hasty and impulsive child. She may be decent in battle, but she cannot be trusted with any serious responsibility, especially not when it comes to command or making decisions.”

Kira’s gaze is left in the same spot as before, but she does scowl at least a little bit.   
Ktila wants to sigh, but remains unfazed for now.  
“And she’s the only one?”

“More so than anyone else on this crew. In fact, I don’t believe I’ve ever encountered anyone of high rank who acts like her and I don’t see why she is to be involved when it comes to something as important as the Emperor. Her essence as one of his “children”, should not matter.  
While there’s some naivety from a few others on board this ship, she’s the foremost on this front.”

“You say that, but would it not be a simple matter to accuse you of the same kind of behavior?”

He begins to frown, even looking a bit offended.  
“Excuse me?”

“Is it not true that you often provoke her, or goad her into a fight?”

He scoffs and waves dismissively.  
“Such things serve a purpose. It is part of the necessity of proving how foolish she is and that she is not ready to be part of our efforts against the Emperor. I make it obvious to you how easily she angers or shows her eagerness to fight me. This type of behavior can easily make her fall into one of his traps and not only get herself killed, but us too, in the process.”

“You may claim this to be the truth, but I think you’re being very childish.”

He frowns even deeper.  
“Childish? That is utterly ludicrous and a foolish statement. I’m older than this entire crew combined and demeaning me in such a fashion is beyond senseless.”

Ktila somewhat amusedly arches her brow.  
“It seems you take offense at my words, Lord Scourge.”

“Of course I do! You’re insulting not just my intelligence, but my disposition.”

“And yet, you call this kind of behavior ‘childish’, when it is Kira who reacts to it.”

“A different matter entirely. She angers to such a degree that she is willing to clash with me if I do not cease my attempts of insulting her.”

“And you’re claiming that I wouldn’t be able to do the same to you? I only called you one word just now and yet you immediately became agitated. If I had continued to poke, would you not say that it’s likely that things would’ve gotten worse?”  
Scourge’s scowling expression does not cease, but he doesn’t respond either.  
“You claim to be old, ‘rational’ and emotionless for having lived this long under the Emperor’s hold, but it’s not that simple, Scourge. You’re just like us and no matter how much you insist otherwise, I have a feeling that you too crave attachment and friendship.   
Your personalities may differ, as does your needs, but I can see some pretty clear similarities between you and Kira in regard to your reactions and prideful attitudes. And that shouldn’t be something inherently bad – in fact, I think it’s good that there is something which you share. It’s why I enjoy the company of both of you.”  
She gives him a moment to retort, but the silence persists.  
“I believe the reason you taunt her doesn’t have anything to do with a test at all – you do it because you want to continue fighting her. You enjoy this act and the fact that she gets angry. However, this doesn’t help either of you.”

His irritation with her statement is slowly dissipating, even though he refuses to fully acknowledge her reasons.  
“It is…not the same with you, Ktila. You are a different kind of Jedi and it is why I can work better at your side, compared to anyone else.”

“You say that, but I know you judge too quickly, especially when it comes to Kira. If not, tell me I’m wrong.”  
She gives him a few seconds, but he has nothing for her. It’s likely he knows she speaks the truth. Ktila decides to address both of them.  
“Do you see what happens when you judge each other too swiftly like you’ve done previously? You have ended up in a vicious cycle and your own flawed beliefs have made you unable to see past it.  
I have not done the same, which is why I can open up to you both. It’s been obvious to me for months now that we need to find some accord here, and I’m not just saying that out of convenience. I truly believe it’s the best way for us to further improve our teamwork. I mean, that should be obvious already, but since neither of you thinks it’s necessary, I called you here to show you that you may be wrong. And it isn’t even an issue of Jedi versus Sith, as neither of those two Orders are so easily defined. It’s simply a matter of people.”

Ktila’s argument in this little…intervention, or whatever they wish to call it, slowly sinks into them, and she patiently waits for them to finally say their piece.  
“Well, what do you want us to do then? You want us to become friends? Because I don’t think it’s gonna work that easily”, Kira comments.

The chiss shakes her head briefly.  
“No, I’m not demanding anything like that. In fact, I’m not even telling you to like each other at all.   
All I want is for the constant bickering to stop or at least slow down. It’s tiring, not just for me, but the entire crew dynamic. Either we solve this, or I will be forced to split us up at some point.   
Only you can make this decision, though.”

Kira gazes at her searchingly and then inclines her head.  
“Alright, I guess we can give it a chance. Or I will at least try to tone it down a little bit.”

She gives Scourge a glance, who reluctantly shows his agreement as well.  
“Yes, I shall have to make the attempt as well, if that is what you prefer.”

Ktila shrugs.  
“I’m not sure it’s what I want, but I believe it is important. My hope is that you’ll come to an understanding at some point but, I suppose we’ll have to see if that’s even possible.   
Regardless, I’m glad you were willing to at least listen to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I don't think this is the best way to solve a conflict, to let both of them just talk about why they dislike each other and then prove why it's not the best way to deal with it but, I feel it's what Ktila would do. She likes to handle these things directly, which is why she set this meeting up._
> 
> _Next time, we'll have a meeting between Jovana and Cierah._


	36. Menacing borders (IA + BH)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Apparently there's a lot of fluff this week._

In the district of space which she’s currently at, there are few habitable planets which can provide the ideal environment for Halcyon crown owls to enjoy themselves in. However, if there’s one thing that Cierah is good at, it’s locating information. For the most part, this involves secrets and intel about individuals or factions, but the climates of planets isn’t a particularly difficult task either.  
They’ve landed on a world categorized by the Empire as nothing more than the name Hc-5763c 1B. A fairly boring word for a planet which has only been spotted, but not explored. Cierah could easily cross-reference it with star charts provided by factions out here in the Outer Rim and then proceeded to take her ship in that direction.

This is why she now finds herself on a hill, surrounded by a thickly forested area. There is civilization on this world, but not in this particular region. It has allowed her little feathery pet to get some exercise and try hunting in peace, if he should wish to. During the few weeks that he has been by her side, Cierah has made sure to read up on behavior, sounds, body language, food and other things necessary to keep her new friend healthy and happy. As surprised as she may be, it appears she actually enjoys it too. She has never had a pet, but she also never figured she wanted one – not until now, anyway. 

As she watches him soar over the trees in the distance, a small and quite rare smile plays on her lips. There is a bit of worry instilled within her, as she wonders if he’ll be able to handle himself if he bumps into anything, like another predator, but she trusts that he will know what to do and call out for her if need be. 

While she tries to focus on this activity, she suddenly hears noise from the forest behind her. She doubts anyone would’ve come out here just to pursue her but, as she can never be too sure, one hand rests at the handle of her gun, as she turns around. A moment later, her eye widens in surprise. It is met by a rather familiar dark-skinned human in a black shirt with a red vest on top and white pants, who looks around casually.  
“Well well, look who we have here. I guess this place must be one where everyone takes their vacation, huh?”

The surprise is feigned, but Cierah’s is not. A moment later, she scowls.  
“Jovana? What are you doing here?”

The mandalorian smirks as she walks up the hill, locking eyes with Cierah at the same time.  
“What, am I not allowed to come here? Is there a ban on mandalorians around these parts or something?”

Cierah sighs and shakes her head while she folds her arms.  
“No, of course not. Just…how the hell did you find me?”

“Oh, you know, I was in the area and saw you guys fly past us, so I figured I’d come down after ya.”

Cierah does not look amused.  
“…bullshit. Give me the truth.”

It seems to amuse Jovana that Cierah demands it, while she is so rarely candid with others. However, the situation between these two is rather different, of course.  
“Alright, fine, have it your way.  
I may have received some inside information from…a certain individual. You might know her.”

Doesn’t take long for her to figure out who and she sighs while shaking her head.  
“…Kaliyo…”

Jov closes the distance between and then raises a hand towards Cierah’s hair. She caresses the agent’s ponytail rather gently.  
“Well, I’m here now and I think that’s what matters, right?”

“I suppose so. I simply don’t enjoy the idea of Kaliyo jeopardizing our position.”

“Tsk, she doesn’t do that. She just knows I’m trustable, that’s all.”

Cierah arches a skeptical brow.  
“That’s debatable.”

Jov chuckles and playfully pokes Cierah’s stomach. She doesn’t even flinch in return.  
“Shut up. Anyway, how are you doing? You look kinda tired.”

She allows herself to calm down again and forget about her defenses for the time being. She is safe in Jov’s company – that much she is certain of.  
“I’ve had a lot to do lately, what with the war raging in many parts of the galaxy and several people still trying to track me down. I suppose it may have stressed me out somewhat.”

“Anyone giving you trouble?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” 

Jov nods, knowing this is true but, if Cierah would call for her, the mandalorian would be there within seconds. Well, as quickly as her ship can take her, anyway.  
“Good to know. But hey, you don’t need to be so stressed out about me not being around constantly, babe. I know you can’t stop thinking of me, but, can’t let it get to you.”

Cierah turns a highly unamused gaze in Jov’s direction, as the mandalorian grins back at her. Before responding, she uses her hands to grab the top of Jov’s vest and pulls her down into a more manageable height. Cierah wraps her lips around those of her lover, displaying the passion in her actions, which she can’t do with her words. Just as eager to please, Jov responds while still having a hand around the black hair.  
When she has had enough for now, Cierah leans back a little bit to give them space.  
“You’re not that irresistible, Vlasic.”

“Your body says otherwise.”  
Cierah feels how Jov’s hand begins travelling down her back, and she can guess what the other woman intends to do. However, these plans are interrupted by the sound and motion of something flying in their direction. Instinctively, Jov pulls back and looks in surprise as something large lands on Cierah’s shoulder on the opposite side.  
“What the fuck?!”

The owl takes a safe grip around Cierah and she turns towards him.  
“Oh, there you are. Thought you would still be hunting.”

He flaps his wings a little bit and shakes his feathers as well, as he looks at her. Jov remains a step away from the two of them.  
“So uh…this must be the new friend of yours that I heard about.”

“Yes, this is him.”

The owl suddenly redirects his attention towards Jov, the bright orange eyes practically glaring at her. At the same time, he climbs across Cierah’s left shoulder, around the back of her neck and stops on the right shoulder, closest to Jov – he keeps eye contact the entire time while he does this, much to her dismay. Cierah seems amused, however.  
“Uh, cute. Does...does it have a name?”

“Yes, I call him Cipher’s Menace, although he responds to ‘Menace’, as well.”

Jov arches a questioning eyebrow at Cierah.  
“…what kind of name is that?”

“A simple one. He’s mine and he’s a menace to anyone who isn’t me.”

The mercenary snorts and folds her arms.  
“Kinda funny but, also quite weird. I guess it suits you.”

While Cierah doesn’t move any closer, she does study Jov and wonders if this is a general fear of birds or something else.  
“Would you like to say hello?”

Jov clears her throats and lifts a hand in between them.  
“Uh…nah, I’m good.  
I get the feeling that he might not like me.”

“Perhaps not. Don’t take it personal, though – he doesn’t like anyone.”

“Good for him, I guess…”

“He is rather kind to me, at least. We get along quite well.”

It’s not that she endorses this behavior, but Cierah does find it kind of funny that he manages to keep Jov away from her, without doing much else than looking intimidating. Soon enough, Jov actually seems frustrated.  
“Well, can you tell him to, I dunno, fuck off or something, so that I can get back to smooching my girlfriend?”

“Why? I believe he has earned some rest.”

“Yeah? And what about me?”

Finally feeling that it may be enough, Cierah shifts her position, so that Menace is on the opposite side again. Naturally, he merely angles his head to see better and continues to glare at Jov. Cierah tries to appease him by caressing his feathers with the hand on that side. In the meantime, she also offers the other hand for Jov.  
“I suppose I can make a compromise.”

Jov exhales heavily, but moves her hand to grab the offered one and entwines their fingers.  
“You know, I didn’t think that your owl pet would be the first of your family to scorn me.” 

Cierah simply shakes her head.  
“I don’t think it’s worth comparing them. It would be very different if my mothers were to meet you.”

“What, are you saying that your mothers are worse than your murderous bird?”

Cierah rolls her eye, knowing that Jov may be exaggerating on purpose, but it does get a bit silly to her.  
“He’s not that bad, Jovana. I believe he’s just protective of me for the time being, as you are an unknown to him.”

“That doesn’t really make me feel any better. I’d prefer if he keeps away from me entirely.”

“As you wish. In regard to my mothers, I suppose they wouldn’t actually get violent. However, they do have quite high standards – Dreya especially.”

Jov tilts her head curiously.  
“Makes it sound like you’ve brought home people to see your parents before.”

“It’s true, I have. Although, I will admit that I have not brought anyone who has been such…permanent material.” 

They share a look when hearing this phrase and Jov smiles while squeezing her hand a little bit tighter.  
“Good to know.”

“Anyhow, I have indeed invited others before. Not a lot of people, obviously, as I rarely get attached. Most have been for the occasional date or one of the dances I attended when I was younger, in school and the officer academy.”

A very specific word gets Jov’s attention.  
“Dances?”

“Yes, the imperial education system has certain traditions like that. It’s not mandatory per se but, most people attend for purposes of socializing and creating connections.”

“Heh, you make it sound so…efficient.” 

She shrugs briefly.  
“That is how I saw them. Can’t say it was very fruitful for me but, some of them provided interesting experiences. And I do enjoy spending time with someone I’m attracted to, at least for a time.”

Jov knows enough about that already, and the fact that she has also become one of the few exceptions of those who have been with Cierah.  
“How did it go when you took those people to see your parents then?”

“I think it would be fairly obvious that they were quite heavily scrutinized.”

She doesn’t look particularly concerned and simply shrugs nonchalantly.  
“Yeah, so? Despite what you may believe, I’m pretty sure I can take their ‘inspections’ or whatever.”

Cierah watches her with interest. She doesn’t particularly mind this confidence, as it’s one of the traits she quite enjoys with her girlfriend but, she shouldn’t get too overconfident either.  
“Do not speak all too quickly. You don’t know how critical they can be.”

“We’ll see, I guess.  
When will I get to meet them anyway?”

Turning to look at her, Cierah arches a brow skeptically  
“What, you think you’re already prepared for such a meeting?”

“Sure, why not?”

Cierah takes a deep breath, and slowly exhales it through her nose. She begins to do her own scrutinizing and eyes Jov’s outfit in particular.  
“Well, first of all, you will likely have to get better clothes before we do anything like that.”

Jov shifts her sight downwards to look at her outfit.  
“What’s wrong with my clothes?”

“If you ask that, you are definitely not ready.”

This makes her laugh a little bit.  
“Alright, fine. That’s not a problem. I’ve got lots of creds stored away, and I’m sure I can fix something classier, if that’s what you require.”

“Sort of, yes. At the very least, you cannot walk around in such a lazy outfit.”

“We can look for something later on, I’m sure.”

If Jov is ready to do that, it is one positive step at least.  
“After that, you will likely need to educate yourself on some important topics about the Empire. Dreya might quiz you, as you’re an outsider.”

“Quiz me? On what?”

“Geography, history, politics”, she looks up into Jov’s eyes, “my mother is very patriotic, and she thinks that every imperial should know these things. She also demands that anyone trying to bond with her daughter to such a degree, must be one who understands the Empire.”

Jov chuckles and shakes her head.  
“Okay, that’s a bit weird. Do I have to agree with everything too?”

“Not necessarily, as long as you comprehend what it means to be imperial.”

“Alright, well, that might be a bit too much for me as I’ve never had much of a proper education but, hey, if it makes you happy, I’ll give it a try.”

There’s a glimmer of interest in her eye when she hears it.  
“Honestly, it doesn’t matter that much to me. I wouldn’t be with you otherwise. However, I am rather intrigued to see how far you’re ready to go.”

Jov smirks and strokes her thumb gently at the back of Cierah’s hand.  
“Whatever you feel is necessary matters to me, babe.”

That she cares this much is something which helps to reaffirm Cierah’s feelings for Jov, something that is always positive to have.  
“Thank you.”  
She shows this appreciation by leaning in and resting her head against Jov’s chest. 

The mandalorian smiles in return and wraps an arm around her shoulders.  
“There’s no need for that. You know I’m here for you, even if there’s a bunch of people who’d rather stand in my way. I don’t give up that easily.”

“I know and I’m thankful for it.”

Jov is about to tilt her head downwards enough to put a kiss on top of Cierah’s hair, but she has to stop almost immediately, as she feels how a sharp beak suddenly bites into her hand.  
_“Ah, FUCK!”_

She twitches and quickly retracts her hand, as well as most of her body, which surprises the agent. When she realizes what happened, she lets out a chuckle.  
“Oh sorry, I forgot about him.”

Jov frowns deeply and rubs her own hand somewhat protectively.  
“I’m going to strangle that fucking bird…”

Menace glares right back at her, flapping his wings a bit, as if to show some kind of challenging gesture. Jov has seen similar behavior from people in other places, especially Nar Shaddaa, and to her, it’s like he’s telling her ‘bring it on, bitch’.  
Cierah tries to calm them both down, by once more moving a few fingers through Menace’s feathers and lifting her other hand to caress Jov’s chin.  
“You two need to stop fighting.  
Come back with me to the ship and I’ll make sure that we get some time alone. I’ll lock the door, so there’s no interruptions whatsoever.”

Jov looks displeased with Menace for a little while longer, but manages to settle down when seeing Cierah’s face.  
“Okay, just…keep that asshole away from me.”

Cierah smiles, a genuine one which is fairly rare, and rests her hand against Jov’s chest.  
“Don’t worry, dear, I’ll protect you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _These two were destined to not get along. Menace might go easier on her, with time._   
>  _Oh, and yeah, meeting Cierah's mothers is a future chapter._
> 
> _Next time, I'm going back to Bery, but it's not a Bery/Lenorr specific chapter (although there might be a little bit of that)._


	37. The tide moves (Sm)

Despite defeating some of the toughest and most deadly criminals in the galaxy, holding out against the Empire and surviving numerous assassinations and ambushes, Captain Bery’s success in the business sector so far, has been…modest at best. The lack of trying much, on her part, is probably what is at fault, but she often complains that it’s just not her style. She enjoys the smaller battlefields, the flying and risky situations she might get herself into, but not so much when it comes to actually getting down into the details and work out a plan of operations. If she didn’t have some of her companions on the Hypertrail, it’s difficult to say where she would be at this point. Probably still smuggling junk across different hyperlanes. 

A minor example of this can be seen within her kitchen at this time. While Bery sits on her side of the table, a spoon in one hand to put food into her mouth and the other used to hold datapad with files that Risha told her to read, her eyes are instead focused on another sight. Across the table sits a red-skinned woman who has been able to keep her attention for many months now.  
Lenorr sits in a pair of tight grey shorts and a tank top of the same color. In her hands, the pureblood holds two dumbbells that she uses in her current workout session. She usually doesn’t do this outside of the training room, but sometimes she doesn’t have time to stay in there, or there are other things which she must focus on at the same time. This is the case right now, as she also studies a small holographic projector that she has left on the table, reading through a hologram filled with text while she raises the weights in her hands.

Bery really should be working as well, but sitting so close to Lenorr while she’s so…sweaty – it’s impossible not to look. That’s why she sits almost completely transfixed.  
She doesn’t mention it, of course, but it’s not needed. Lenorr easily notices anyway, even while she’s not even facing the twi’lek.  
“Are you going to sit and stare all day?”

Bery clears her throat while her eyes drifts back down onto the pad. Shit, the blank screensaver has already turned on. She has to click on it to get it moving again.  
“Huh? Dunno what you’re talking about, babe.”

A small smirk forms across Lenorr’s lips.  
“I don’t need to see you to know what you’re doing.”

She should’ve expected that, of course, but she tends to forget. Or maybe she doesn’t even care.  
Either way, Bery finds it rather amusing and turns her gaze up again.  
“So what? Do I need an excuse to watch my woman?”

“I suppose not, but you can use your time more efficiently by focusing on your work. I suggest using the datapad in your hand, for example.”

“Mm, maybe.”  
She puts the device down on the table.  
“I might think about it, if you give me a kiss.”

Orange eyes flicker and redirects to lock with the brown ones on the other side. Lenorr smiles and shakes her head briefly. She takes any opportunity she gets, like always.  
“Get back to your work, you fool.”

“Excuse me? Don’t make me climb over the table to come get you, Evintok.”  
Bery tries to sound serious, but her tone is still rather influenced by amusement.

“Please don’t do that. You might knock over your bowl.”

“I’ll do it, unless you get over here right now.”

Lenorr stops her arms for a moment, looking up once more to stare at her intently. They seem to be challenging each other for several seconds, until the Sith ends the silent duel and watches the projector again.  
“Forget it.”

“Alright, you asked for it.”  
She could just give in and admit that Lenorr won this one. Alternatively, she could get off her own ass and walk over to grab that kiss right from Lenorr – it’s not like she would resist.  
But no, she made this threat and she can’t back down now. 

Lenorr sighs as she sees how Bery stands up on her seat and then moves up over the table.  
“Bery…”

“You can only blame yourself, babe. Watch out, I’m gonna jump right down into your lap.”

“Don’t do it.”

While she considers the best approach, and if both of them would tumble off the chair if she jumps from this height, one of the door to the kitchen slides open and a rather disapproving voice can be heard.  
“Bery, dammit, don’t put your feet on the kitchen table.”

She angles her body to glance towards the new arrival and spots Risha standing there with her arms crossed, sighing.  
“What? Lenorr started it!”

The Sith herself rolls her eyes and shrugs towards Risha.  
“Our Captain is being silly as usual.”

“Yeah, why am I not surprised?”

At this stage, Bery would probably start to jokingly berate them both for treating their leader like this, but as Risha’s tone doesn’t show any hints of amusement, Bery thinks it’s best not to push it.  
“Hey, don’t worry, Risha. We were just trying to have some fun.”

“Well, I’m not sure this is a good time for that kind of thing. We need to talk.”  
She throws Lenorr a quick glance as well.  
“It’s good that you’re here, Lenorr, as I believe I need to speak with you both. Since you handle accounting now, it’s probably best if you hear this too.”

This gets Lenorr rather curious and she inclines her head. Bery bends her legs a bit to get closer to the table, before leaping off it and landing with a heavy thud on the floor. She stands up, dusts herself off a bit and looks into Risha’s eyes.  
“Alright, what’s up?”

Risha sighs, letting her gaze drift downwards for a moment as she considers how to approach the subject. A lot has been going on and she is usually the one left to deal with the business, negotiations and other important things that doesn’t require Bery’s direct approval. In a way, Risha is probably more important for the enterprises they have started up since the fall of the Voidwolf. If she wanted to, she could probably trick Bery for loads of credits and stab her in the back. However, after all the twi’lek has done for her, she could never resort to such deception. They’re friends, practically sister, and they need to be there for each other. 

“Do you remember that meeting with the Hutt Cartel you set up for me a while ago?”

“Oh yeah, of course. It was with some minor guy, right? Bagab the Hutt or something?”

Risha nods curtly.  
“Exactly.”

“Yeah, I meant to ask you about that. You haven’t been there already though, have you?”

She shows a troubled expression and shakes her head.  
“No, I haven’t and I likely won’t be either. I got a message from him recently, saying that it’s been cancelled.”

Bery looks surprised and puts her hands at her hips. It’s rare for the Captain to get serious, but when it comes to credits and making alliances, she prefers if things go smoothly. If they don’t, she has to get involved and sometimes, that requires a firm grip.  
“Did you get an explanation for it?”

“I did, but it’s not very encouraging.”  
She puts her hands inside her jacket and lifts out a datapad of her own, turning it on and starts browsing the files.  
“Apparently, there’s been quite a bit of chaos in the Cartel as of late.”

“What kind of chaos? Not the good kind, I guess.”

“Not at all. A lot of it has to do with Karagga’s downfall. You’ve heard about it, right?”

Bery nods, as does Lenorr and it’s the latter who responds, now that she has put her dumbbells down on the table.  
“Yes, it was difficult not to hear of it. He was a powerful hutt.”

The Captain nods in agreement, gaze drifting down to the floor as she seems distant.  
“Yeah, it was kinda shocking to me that it happened at all.  
I mean, that guy has been the Supreme Mogul for ages and he still had a few centuries left to live. I never would’ve thought that we’d see anyone taking his place during my lifetime.”

Lenorr looks at her while she leans her arms against the table.  
“Which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, if we get an amenable replacement.”

“Amenable leader, among the hutts? Dream on, babe.”

Risha nods at her and finally finds the information she needs.  
“You are more on point than you know. Have either of you heard of Toborro?”

Bery raises a hand to scratch at her chin, trying to think of all the names of hutts she has met or heard of. She usually doesn’t keep more than the important names locked in her memory.  
“Hmm…can’t say that I have.”

“I have.”  
The two other women turn towards Lenorr as the Sith seems to recollect her own experiences.  
“As a member of the Sphere of Production and Logistics, I was able to observe much of the trade we engaged in. Toborro the Hutt was one which appeared several times. He both bought and sold goods from the Empire, although not an obscene amount. I wouldn’t call his name particularly notable.”

“Not in the past, you wouldn’t, but I believe that might change now”, Risha comments.

Bery watches her and a frown slowly forms on her brow.  
“Wait, are you saying that this guy is the new Supreme Mogul?”

“He is. It doesn’t seem to have been a smooth transition, but Toborro was clever and moved swiftly against any of his major rivals. That appears to have been what made him accomplish his goal.”

It is quite astonishing, to Bery at least, that someone so minor could take control of the entire Cartel. There are so many names that seemed more applicable.  
“But…hold on, there was really no one else that could challenge him? What about Dobash, Fa’athra, Nem’ro and Khobisho?”

All names that Risha recognizes of course, but for different reasons.  
“Dobash, Fa’athra and Nem’ro are all dead – one by the Empire, another by an assassin, I think.  
Dobash’s ship seems to have been caught in some kind of battlefield in the war, but I suspect it was calculated sabotage.  
Khobisho is still alive, but he appears to have stepped down in favor of Toborro.”

Bery frowns even deeper, wondering if she should be worried or intrigued.  
“This all sounds really strange. That slug either has powerful friends or he’s got a lot of luck.”

“I agree, it is troubling. It gets worse when you hear that he doesn’t seem interested in working with outsiders either.  
Many, although not all, parties outside of the Republic and Empire have been cut off from dealing with the Cartel, if they’re too minor.”

Both Bery and Lenorr widen their eyes.  
“Whoa, what the hell?”

“That is quite…an extreme way to do business. Not something hutts usually engage in”, Lenorr notes.

Risha nods sharply.  
“Definitely. And added to this, even the Republic and Empire has received certain limits on what they can do in Hutt space. Diplomacy hasn’t been severed, but it’s going pretty bad so far.”  
She sighs and raises a hand to scratch her forehead.  
“To be honest, it confuses the hell out of me. I can’t see why he’s doing something like this, especially in the middle of a war.”

Lenorr considers the issue carefully, raising a hand to her chin and rubs one of her facial spurs by her chin in thought.  
“Or perhaps that is exactly why he’s doing it? I’m not an expert when it comes to the kind of trade that the hutts prefer, but I do know that, if handled poorly, war can be very bad for business.”

She does have a point, but Risha isn’t sure it would matter to the hutts.  
“Yeah, I guess. I just assumed that they would try to exploit others to make a profit. You know, work with both sides, raise prices when needed and make them get the most lucrative deals that somehow screws over the ones they trade with. That is the usually the hutt way.”

“You may be right, but there’s always the possibility that Toborro thinks it is too risky.”

“Well, at any rate, a meeting with the Cartel is no longer a possibility because of this change. We are certainly ‘too minor’ for them to care about us.”

Bery groans in irritation.  
“Is that what their message said, or what?”

“Pretty much. Their latest mail mentioned that Toborro’s advisors have decided to cancel our deal and that they no longer wish to do business with you or those associated with you.”

The Captain begins pacing, her lekkus twitching and curling slightly. Lenorr has learned that this is signs of anxiety, anger or stress. Perhaps a bit of all three.  
“Dammit. What about going through their territory? Is that not an option anymore?”

“It’s not entirely certain. I wouldn’t recommend trying it just yet, though. I have to send a few more messages before we can get a confirmation on that.”

Bery takes a deep breath and then slowly nods.  
“Yeah, get on it. It would be kind of a hassle if we aren’t allowed to go there. They own a fuckton of space and they’re involved in some of the best and most lucrative trade in the galaxy. If our own business empire is to have a chance to grow at all, we have to work with them to some degree.”

“Unless we wish to work with the criminal syndicates further out in the Outer Rim.”

“Mm, that’s also a possibility, but I don’t trust those fuckers. At least the hutts won’t try to blow you up until they know you’re a lost cause. The gangs out in the worst parts…well, they might do it just to make a quick cred.”

Risha sighs, closing her eyes as she places her datapad down on the table.  
“We are certainly stuck in a difficult situation. I’m not sure how this one will turn out, but I will try my best to mend it. You have my word on that, Captain.”

Lenorr puts her hands together on the table and thinks of her own possibilities.  
“I’m not sure how helpful it will be, but if you wish, I can inform some of my imperial contacts and see what they can do. Perhaps they can help give us get a foothold among the Cartel and build on that.”

The human slowly opens her eyes and displays a faint smile.  
“Thanks, I appreciate it. I’ll take any help I can get right now.”

While they discuss this, Bery has turned to observe Risha. Her companion is usually pretty busy with a lot of issues on her mind, but right now, she looks more exhausted than normally.  
“By the way, Risha, how are you doing? Looks like you haven’t slept much.”

She hesitates at the question, which might be expected. Risha likes being around these two and most of the others on the ship, but she is reluctant when it comes to revealing too much. She doesn’t like relinquishing personal issues or weaknesses. Probably a bad habit.  
“Well…I suppose I might’ve had a few bad nights lately, yeah.”

“Got a lot on your mind?”

A few quiet seconds passes by, before she sighs.  
“Yeah.”

Bery doesn’t want to push it, but this is her friend and someone important to her life. She wants to at least know if there’s anything she can do.  
“You can talk to me, you know. Or us, I guess.”

Lenorr can be just as guarded, but she nods briefly as well.  
Risha raises a hand to rub at the bridge of her nose, contemplating staying silent, but speaking of it might do her a bit of good.  
“I’ve just been…occupied a lot, with certain problems. This deal with the hutts happened to be another heavy weight on my shoulders.”

“What’s wrong? Doesn’t have to do with our business, I’m guessing.”

“No, it doesn’t. It’s...”  
She frowns, biting at her lower lip for a second, before she lets it pour.  
“It has to do with Dubrillion.”

A name which is very familiar to Bery, but Lenorr has only heard it mentioned once or twice.  
“Is that the name of your homeworld?”, the Sith asks.

“No no, I’m born elsewhere, but it’s where my family belongs. We used to lead it, about a century ago.”

Bery folds her arms, trying to remember what Risha has told her about it.  
“Didn’t you mention something about a war of succession or something? I thought you had that fixed.”

“Uh, yeah, a war was definitely started, but it’s far from over. Actually, the situation isn’t going very well at all.  
The nobles who are supporting my claim to the throne aren’t doing very well.”

Not exactly the best news to be given when she’s not even on the planet. Lenorr knows at least a little bit more of war, even if she squabbles of royalty and nobility is not something she is all too used to. Sith conflicts are usually quite different and solved more swiftly and no one would ever challenge the Emperor.  
“You think they’ll lose?”

“Maybe. Current estimates make it seem as if my side may fall within a year, maybe less. They’ve been beaten back on every front and despite the support from quite a lot of civilians, they’re not the ones with the power and weapons.”

Bery gently raises a hand and places it on top of Risha’s shoulder.  
“Damn. I’m sad to hear that, Risha. You’ve been working so hard on this, so I figured it might be a breeze to win.”

Risha slumps somewhat against the table, letting her fingers down onto the datapad again and checks the old data she last received.  
“I know and I really hoped it would be as well.  
I’ve done everything I can – work on as many alliances as possible, send extra credits and supplies from the profits I’ve been making, recruiting mercenaries that won’t ask for too much in return…but unfortunately, it may be to no avail.”

While neither of them wants to lose Risha, which could certainly become a reality if she takes the throne, they also don’t want her to lose everything she and her father has been fighting for. Bery is uncertain what that could do to her friend’s morale or her continued belief in what they’re doing. 

Lenorr leans back in her seat, bending one of her legs to rest against the edge of the table and placing her arm on top of her knee.  
“I’m not sure what can be done to change it on a local level, but, I can always contact someone that could aid your troops. Darth Imperius, for example, could certainly be convinced to send a few ships, or ask someone else to do it for her.”

A kind offer, but Risha shakes her head.  
“Nice of you to say that but, I can’t accept it. If the Empire gets involved on my behalf, we’ll not only lose our independence, but it’s likely that the people will turn against me.  
Right now, they support me because of the promises the nobles have given them under my name and it’s mostly better than what they’re getting from the current King. Take that away, and we’ve got nothing. Our cause will truly be lost. And even if the Empire helps us win, I’m not going to be some puppet monarch for them. Just not my style.”

It’s not certain that Lenorr would see it in the same way, but she does admire the sentiment. At the very least, she wants to rule on her own terms.  
Bery lifts her hand to tap at her chin in thought.  
“Well, maybe you don’t have to lose everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t have to take their troops and ships, but maybe you can still get some stuff from them. You could accept their weapons and supplies covertly. I bet the Empire would still ask something of you, but at least then you could stop at an alliance at best, instead of letting them decide everything for you. Perhaps narrow it down to Imperius and one or two other Councilors. Even they would probably prefer to keep it quiet then, as they’d have secret allies as a trump card for the future.”

Lenorr begins to smirk when she hears the suggestion.  
“Sometimes I forget how devious you can be, darling.”

Bery shows a similar expression and winks.  
“Shouldn’t doubt me, babe.”

Risha on the other side, still seems torn on the issue.  
“Hmm, maybe. I dunno. I guess I’d have to think it over. There’s a lot to do and I can’t decide to take such aid before I know all my options.”

The Captain steps closer to her and wraps an arm around her shoulders.  
“Well, if there’s anything we can do to help, just ask. We’re friends and always ready to help you out, Risha.”

Despite the dire situation, Risha manages to smile before she tilts her head and rests it on Bery’s shoulder.  
“Thanks, Bery. I appreciate it. It’s…good to know I have someone.”

“Always. Even if things don’t work out with the throne, you’ll have us.”

“Yeah, that’s the only comfort I have right now, I suspect.”

Bery is about to agree, but then remembers a different angle. While Risha doesn’t see it, Lenorr notices a rather mischievous expression sneaking up across Bery’s face.  
“That’s not entirely true, though. I mean, you can always contact Sumalee if you need to be cheered up, right?”

She feels how Risha seems to get rather tense at the mention of the togruta. It’s rare for them to talk about her, as she usually prefers to stay off that topic.  
“I…I’d definitely want to do that, but I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“She’s a Jedi, Bery. She’s busy with the war, saving people from the Empire’s attacks and all that hero nonsense. I shouldn’t disturb her.”

Lenorr smirks in the way Risha describes it, which probably relinquishes some of the doubts she has about her absent girlfriend’s lifestyle. Lenorr can relate.  
Bery, however, is not as certain.  
“Oh c’mon, that’s bullshit. Surely, Sumalee wouldn’t mind coming this way if she knew that someone she cares for needs her?”

“…I never said I ‘need’ her.”

“You sure? Everyone needs to get laid every now and then.”

Lenorr rolls her eyes, while Risha groans, uncertain if she’s annoyed at the expression, or the fact that she might be partially correct.  
“Dammit, Bery, not everyone is as obsessed with sex as you.”

Bery manages to look pretty smug anyway.  
“Who said I’m obsessed? Just telling you the facts, Drayen. You could use it right now, to relieve some of that tension.”

Straightening herself, she prepares as fierce of a glare as she’s able.  
“I’m tired, not horny.”

“Sometimes, they’re the same thing.”

“To you, maybe.”

“And hey, if she’s gonna be your Queen-consort in the future, she may have to start spending a whole lot more time by your side anyway.”

Facing Bery’s stupid grin, is very sharp glare that would probably get most other people trembling, but not the Captain.  
_“…don’t even joke about that.”_

Despite the fairly intimidating tone, Bery leans her head back and laughs. At least she can easily win this debate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Next, there'll be either one or two chapters with Reezah and Elara. I have something personal in mind for Elara, but I'm unsure how long it will be. We'll see._


	38. Not all shining beacons (Tr)

The latest war between the Republic and the Empire started fairly small, at least if one considers how it’s called a ‘galactic war’. Only about a dozen systems were affected to begin with and while many soldiers and ships were sent to each side, it’s been escalating the longer this conflict persists.  
One of the planets where the fighting came very early, was a world located in the Mid Rim, Patracca. While it has yet to be decided and the number of troops have diminished on both side in order to focus on other fronts, there are still skirmishes here and the Empire has managed to dig themselves in pretty deep. However, one side is now hoping that their luck might change.

Major Reezah Hiktesh stands in one of the small barracks that is put up in one of the Republic camps located in a jungle, quite far away from most major population centers. They’re out here hoping to both keep themselves hidden, as well as avoiding collateral damage upon civilian lives if they do end up being detected.  
In the same room, there are other team leaders from various groups, with a male human at the front, Colonel Marlen. Close to him are two holoprojectors - one displays maps of the region, while the other is a hologram of an older male mirialan, General Valdrish.  
For now, Reezah is mostly standing there, absorbing the information which is being relayed to everyone in the room.

“The imperial command center is up here, several miles north of our position”, Marlen points out and a symbol starts blinking on the correct location.  
“It’s heavily fortified and they have constant patrols moving through the jungle. There are several anti-air cannons hidden in the surrounding region and while we’d like to just bombard it from orbit, we don’t have enough firepower to penetrate the shield surrounding it.  
What we need is to stage distractions on a few positions to the southwest and southeast. This would give time for another team to infiltrate from the northeast, which our intel has found out is the weakest spot.”

Valdrish’s hologram turns to look at Reezah.  
“And that’s where Havoc comes into the picture, Major. The Republic isn’t doing well on this world and the Supreme Commander has reassured me that sending you here will help us turn the situation around. Your team will be infiltrating the base, if you’re all up to the task, that is.”

Most eyes in the room turns to her, but she doesn’t falter, and merely nods curtly.  
“Of course, General, we’re all experienced and have performed similar ops in the past. We’ll get inside and grab the data you need.”

“Glad to hear it. We’re counting on you and your team, Major.”

At the same time, Marlen looks skeptical.  
“You’re completely sure about this, Hiktesh? We’ve all heard the stories of Havoc’s accomplishments, but letting a team of merely six people get in there and then escape afterwards…well, I’d consider that a suicide mission, even with our distractions.”

Reezah doesn’t show any concern and instead smiles in return.  
“It’s what Havoc was created for, sir. Don’t worry, focus on your tasks and I promise we’ll see each other again once we’re done.”

Marlen and even Valdrish may feel that it’s possible she’s overconfident in her abilities, but they choose to take it as a good sign, at least for now.  
“Let’s hope so.”

“You better prepare your squad for the mission, Major. We’re moving out in twelve hours and all of you need to be ready by then”, Valdrish tells her.

Reezah straightens her back and salutes both of them.  
“Yes, sir!” 

After this is done, she wanders out from the barracks, as the duo has to give further details to the other teams and it’s not something Reezah specifically needs to hear. She knows they’ll do their jobs and will put her trust in their abilities.  
On the outside, she returns to the clearing within the jungle that the camp is situated, seeing all kinds of activity moving between various buildings and vehicles. Her eyes turn towards the left side however and sees a small shuttle a few hundred meters away, where her team is waiting. She immediately leaves the door and heads in that direction. 

As she reaches them, she notices how Yuun seems to be doing some kind of adjustments on Forex, Vik is sitting inside the front seats of the shuttle with the door open and Jorgan is checking something on a datapad. However, at her approach, the Lieutenant lowers it, looks up at her and nods at her briefly. If this was a more ceremonial location, he’d likely salute her, but they both know that’s not needed when they’re in a camp like this.  
“Done with the debriefing, sir?”

Reezah holds a datapad of her own, casually running her fingers at the top of it as she looks at her team.  
“That’s right. They’ve given us our assignments and have informed me what the plan will be.”

Vik can hear them even while not being turned in their direction and snorts.  
“Let me guess – it’s all on us once again?”

“It’s what we do best, Vik. That’s why they’re counting on us.”

“Yeah, yeah, would be nice if someone else could be competent for once, though.”

Jorgan rolls his eyes and focuses on Reezah.  
“We’re ready to do what’s necessary, sir. You got the information we need?”

She nods and turns her eyes to the datapad.  
“That’s right. They’ve got a pretty solid plan of attack, from the basic view of what I was given. I’ll be adding my own touch on each of your exact positions of course, and then we’ll go from there. This means you’ll need to do some reading.”

Vik groans, while Yuun looks at her with more enthusiasm. Well, as much as he’s able to, at least.  
“We will study them thoroughly, Major.”

“And then we shall lead yet another efficient and heroic strike against the Empire! This will surely raise morale in the area for all Republic forces!”, Forex exclaims.

“Perhaps, but the focus will be to gain intel on all imperial operations here on Patracca. That’s what we’ll find in that base.”  
Reezah looks up.  
“When it comes to specific assignments, I-“  
She stops and looks around the shuttle again, suddenly realizing something.  
“Wait, where’s Elara?”

Jorgan lifts his hand and points his thumb at their own barracks, a small place with just a few rooms that can fit beds for each member in the team. They lifted it here on their own, using the Meteor.  
“She told us she had to go back into her room. It was something about a private message she received. Needed to deal with some situation.”

Reezah appears skeptical for a moment, wondering what this might be about.  
“Was she…upset?”

“Dunno, couldn’t tell. She put up quite a mask though, so it’s possible.”

This certainly doesn’t bode well and Reezah feels how the worry builds up within her.  
“I see. Well, I better go check it out.” She hands the pad over to Jorgan. “Pass this around or trade the files between your datapads and then study them thoroughly. I will debrief you all later before we get some sleep. The mission starts in twelve hours.”

“Roger that, Major. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the rest of the team stays sharp. You go make sure the XO is alright.”

“Will do.”  
Reezah then moves towards their place and enters it. She proceeds towards the door to Elara’s room. On the Meteor, they mostly share Reezah’s cabin, but also realize the importance of some separation at times, especially on missions.  
The Major tries to listen close to the door at first, but as there’s no sound from within, she decides to knock on the it.  
“Hey, it’s me.”

Silence continues for several more seconds, until she finally hears Elara’s voice, somewhat weaker than usually.  
“It’s unlocked.”

Clicking the button next to it, the door slides open and she walks inside. She finds her XO sitting on her bed, eyes distant and turned downwards, with her hands wrapped around a datapad. Reezah almost feared finding Elara extremely worried or in shock, but instead, she looks rather muted.  
“Erm, you okay?”

Elara slowly nods and sound absent when she speaks.  
“Yes, I’m fine.”

Doesn’t quite sound that way, but there’s clearly more going on.  
“Okay. Well, I heard you received a message or something like that?”

This seems to get her attention and Elara turns her gaze up to face her. As she does, she suddenly looks uncertain.  
“I did, yes. I’m…sorry for stepping away before your briefing was done. I had to read this message.”

“That’s fine, no need to apologize. Seems like it was important. You wanna talk about it?”

Elara hesitates and seems to go back and forth whether she does want to mention it, before she shakes her head.  
“No, let’s not. It’s not a concern for Havoc.”

This answer does provide certain clues and Reezah feels her own protective mechanisms starting up.  
“Well, I don’t want to push you, but I’m open to listening, whether it’s important to us or not. Was it from the Personnel Division?”

Elara raises a hand, putting two fingers at her nose and rubs the tip of it, still seeming rather reluctant.  
“It…was not. This message was of a more personal nature.”

Reezah decides to come a bit closer. She knows that Elara may need some space, but she wants to show that she’s there for her, just in case.  
“If you want to get it out, it’s not really going to bother me, you know. Sometimes it’s good to do that.”

When Elara watches her, Reezah sees how her features softens somewhat, which is a good sign. At least she appreciates the act.  
“I’m not sure it’s worth speaking of, nor that this is the kind of subject you and I should be discussing.”

“That’s up to you, Elara. If it’s too personal, then it’s none of my business. But, like I said, it wouldn’t bother me if it’s something that affects you, or us.”

Elara sighs, turning downwards again, to the datapad.  
“It has nothing to do with us, perhaps not even me directly. It’s just…a concern.”

“Whatever is important to you, is important to me.”

They remain like this in quiet for several more seconds, until Elara finally gives in and pats the bed next to her, giving Reezah a chance to sit down.  
“The message was sent from the Republic Strategic Intelligence Service.”

Well, definitely not what she had expected. She thought it might’ve been from Elara’s brother or some other command somewhere. Perhaps someone who wanted to transfer Elara or something? But no, this sounds very different.  
“The SIS? What did they want? Are they concerned about your position in Havoc? Because if they are…”

Elara places a hand on top of Reezah’s, trying to reassure her.  
“No, no, don’t worry. It has nothing to do with loyalty concerns, Havoc or…well, even me personally.  
The message I received wasn’t even officially sent from them.”

Reezah arches a questioning brow.  
“Huh. You often get private messages from the SIS?”

“Sometimes. At any rate, it reported to me about a battle in the Sigmaro system, where the Republic recently fought and defeated imperial forces. During that time, they managed to capture one of the imperial commanding officers for the sector, who was also connected to Imperial Intelligence.”

“Whoa. A CO and an intelligence agent at the same time? That’s quite a lucky strike for us.”

By the look of Elara’s expression, she doesn’t seem to share in the celebration and instead she appears troubled.  
“The officer, Group Captain Vasil Dorne, is now in SIS custody.” 

Reezah widens her eyes in shock.  
“…wait, Dorne?”

“Yes.”

She sighs and looks away.  
“…shit. I’m sorry.”

Elara appears to read the report once more, as it’s on the display.  
“I haven’t seen him in several years now. I certainly didn’t expect to hear about him like this.”

Not much of a surprise, as Reezah couldn’t have prepared for this either. She kinda wish that someone had warned her too, though.  
“Well, at least he’s still alive, if he’s in custody. Are you worried?”

She doesn’t respond to the question directly, but continues along the same topic.  
“I never would’ve believed that he’d get himself captured. He always knew what he was doing and had dozens of potential escape routes planned everywhere he went.”

“What was he even doing on the frontlines? If he’s an agent, I mean.”

“He’s not a true member of Imperial Intelligence, not one of their ‘agents’. He spent most of his life in the military, before being assigned directly to the Minister of intelligence, as a special attaché. Kind of a liaison, I suppose.”

Reezah nods, understanding the position and also realizing who Elara might’ve been if she followed in his footsteps. Makes her glad to think that the daughter had more of a conscience.  
“Does SIS want you to talk to him or something?”

She shakes her head.  
“No, like I said, the mail I received was not official.”  
She looks up face Reezah in a more direct manner.  
“I have certain…acquaintances close to the SIS, ones that I picked up when I joined. Not everyone was quite as suspicious as Captain Kalor.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. They sent you this information?”

“Yes. I had mentioned my father’s name during the initial interviews and I suppose someone must’ve attained the report of his capture and thought of me.”

“Looks like it, yeah.”  
She slides a bit closer on the bed and wraps an arm around Elara’s back.  
“So, what do you want to do? Would you wanna talk to your dad? If you got the chance, I mean.”

Elara considers it, shoulders slumping and raises a hand to rub at her forehead.  
“I…don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him since weeks before I deserted. I’m not sure what I would even say to him.”

“Did you ever mention your feelings on the Empire’s methods?”

“Yes, I did, but not in any way that made it seem as if I doubted the Empire. I definitely didn’t try to hint at my future escape either - he would’ve tried to stop me.”

“Shit. That’s…kinda harsh.”  
While Reezah tries to come up with something else to ask, a rather specific thought pops up amidst the others.  
“Actually, now that I think of it, you haven’t really talked much about him.”

Elara arches a confused brow in her direction.  
“Pardon? I’m fairly confident that we have spoken of my family and explained who he is.”

“Yeah, sure, you’ve talked about his position and the importance of your family, but you’ve never really gone through the details. Like your father’s personality and your relationship with him.”

She goes quiet then, trying to recall her memories of their conversations, as well as her time in the Empire. Not any easy subject to get into.  
“That is true. I suppose it must have slipped my mind. It didn’t feel necessary to mention anything specific.”

Reezah understands that Elara probably wanted to get away from thoughts of betraying her family and can’t blame her for it.  
“Well, if you wanna do it now, I’m definitely interested in him.”

Elara glances at her with just a little bit of doubt before she exhales briefly.  
“Very well. My father is what can be expected of a ‘typical’ imperial officer, especially one assigned to Imperial Intelligence.  
He was always a patriotic man; strict, loyal and determined. As long as I knew him, he was proud of his heritage and of serving the Empire. This feeling was something he transferred to us as well, and he expected us to act the same.”

“Right. Sounds like he wouldn’t have approved of your escape then.”

She snorts and quickly shakes her head.  
“He definitely wouldn’t have. At the time, I didn’t even want to think about the danger of mentioning it to him.”

Reezah tilts her head curiously, wondering how bad it could get.  
“Really? He doesn’t sound like a very nice dad. Not one you’d wish to remember fondly at least.”

Elara’s features soften somewhat.  
“I suppose I’m being a bit unfair. He wasn’t a poor father. In fact, he could be quite pleasant with me and Aleksei in private.”  
She appears distant again, a small wistful smile adorning her lips.  
“I remember when he had a bit of time off while we were young. He used to sit down with us and tell us stories about all the worlds he had visited during his various campaigns in the military.”

“He travelled a lot?”

“Fairly often, yes. He tried to return whenever he got the chance, and we loved listening to him speak of planets in all corners of the galaxy and the people he had met on them. I recall how I too wanted to travel to some of those one day and experience them.”

Reezah smiles and gently caresses Elara’s shoulder.  
“Well, in a way, you did.”

She nods in agreement, but her own joy soon disperses again.  
“Not in the same way that he would’ve wanted, of course.”  
While she sighs, it’s hard to determine whether she’s disappointed or merely reminiscing.  
“Thinking of him right now is counterproductive. Even should I want to, the SIS would never allow me in there. He’s an ‘asset’ at this point, not someone that you give an opportunity to get what he desires.”

“Hmm, maybe. I wouldn’t be so sure of that, though. I mean, there’s always the chance that someone can help you.”

“And who would do that?”

“I would.”

Elara blinks and turns to look at her more properly.  
“What do you mean? How would you accomplish something like that?”

“Well, you know…I’ve got a few favors among certain parts of the SIS. I could use one or two for you, if you want it.”

This surprises the Captain at first, as obviously she wouldn’t have considered asking Reezah. But it does make sense that someone in charge of the most famous special ops team would know important people.  
“I…are you really sure you wish to do that? Allowing an imperial defector to see her loyal imperial father would most likely be dangerous in the eyes of both army command, as well as the SIS. It might damage your reputation.”

Reezah snorts and shrugs quite nonchalantly.  
“So? One little strike won’t exactly ruin me. The Republic needs me and they know that. And if I should be honest, I don’t even care if they get angry. If this is the kind of thing that you want to do, then I’ll take that hit. Damn the consequences.”

Elara watches her for several moments, like she tries to decide how to feel. Eventually, she diverts her eyes to the ground instead.  
“It’s hard to tell what my father would say about me now, if we were to meet. It might be unwise, as he would most likely be disappointed.”

Another aspect to ponder, and one she should’ve thought of earlier.  
“He wouldn’t really like me much, right?”

Elara only needs a few seconds to think of an answer, before she shakes her head.  
“Probably not.”

“Meh. Who gives a shit? Honestly, there’s only one Dorne’s opinion that matters to me and you should know this already.”

She turns her attention back up to Reezah and finally manages to smile a bit wider, leaning against her beloved’s shoulder in the meantime. This allows Reezah to embrace further and entwine their fingers.  
“Sometimes, I wonder if I don’t deserve you.”

“Pft, it’s more likely that the opposite would be true. You’re a much better person than I’ll ever be.”

Elara raises her free hand, putting it around Reezah’s left lekku and caresses it very softly. It just barely twitches in her grasp, but she knows it’s a pleasant motion.  
“We should probably hold off on this decision until later. Right now, we have a mission to focus on and we shouldn’t get distracted.”

“I know, but at least you could get this off your chest.”

The Captain closes her eyes and rests her head against Reezah’s arm.  
“Thank you for listening.”

“Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, with how much happens to Imperial Intelligence and other military sections of the Empire during the class stories, I figured that Vasil would get a promotion or two at some point._
> 
> _I'm gonna allow them to meet with him in the next chapter. We'll see how that goes._


	39. Life drifting expected (Tr)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Alright, second Elara personal stuff chapter._   
>  _Prepare for some good ol' Classic Talon Drama™._   
>  _(usage of the word "good" is debatable)_

After the events on Patracca, which ended fairly well for Havoc squad, the team is allowed a bit of shore leave and being able to spend their time in the way they desire. For the couple in charge, this means making the decision of where to go and handle a very personal and important matter.  
The discussion of whether to leave or not didn’t last as long as either of them had anticipated. It was obvious that this was something they needed to do, no matter what the outcome of it all will be.

Reezah and Elara arrives in a shuttle on a rather lightly populated world. The warm jungle biome at one of the center regions of the planet, hides a highly secured and expensive facility, controlled by Republic SIS. It is here that many, although far from all, valuable prisoners are kept. In fact, only certain people are sent here, the ones that SIS wants to separate from the rest of society the most – apparently, the composition of this world makes it harder to scan the facility from orbit as well.

While they step onto the landing platform and move towards the doors, Elara watches it in thought, and when she speaks, she actually sounds somewhat surprised.  
“So, here we are. Wouldn’t have expected for us to actually get here.”

Reezah turns to look at her, seeing how she is more lightly clad than in battle, but not necessarily casually. For the occasion, both of them have decided to dress themselves in blue and white uniforms, with certain commendations and officer marks across their chests and collars. It was all Elara’s suggestion, of course. Perhaps she wanted herself to seem loyal in some fashion; a notion that Reezah wouldn’t blame her for.  
“Why not?”

“Well, I was uncertain whether you could actually accomplish it. You told me you would but, I remained skeptical.”

Reezah simply smiles at her in return.  
“What, did you forget about the favors I mentioned?”

Elara returns a similar expression.  
“Not at all, but I believed you may have merely been boasting, as usual.”

She does her best not to take offense at that, and smirks instead, while attempting to reach out and poke Elara’s stomach.  
“Tsk, you forget that I’m always as good as I promise to be.”  
Fortunately, the Captain evades.

“Well, within certain areas, I suppose.”

“And what do you mean by that, huh?”

She tries to capture Elara’s arm, still quite playfully, but the Captain takes the opportunity to smile and raise a hand to Reezah’s chin.  
“That you’re not flawless, but the perks of being with you outweighs any negatives.”

Reezah snorts amusedly and shakes her head.  
“Alright, it was a nice save, I’ll give you that.” 

Soon enough, they proceed through the entrance doors and immediately sense how much cooler it gets, because of the air conditioning system inside.  
A few guards and other personnel wander around the area, overseeing various sections, or moving to their offices. For the most part, no one seems to be bothered by the appearance of two soldiers, as if they were expected. Well, it is SIS, so perhaps that’s not a surprise.  
By the aid of a droid, they’re given directions to where they’re supposed to go and wandering up to an elevator which takes them two floors up.  
Walking further through some corridors eventually takes them into the company of a rather familiar figure. A male human with light complexion, shoulder-length black hair and a finely cut goatee steps within their view, currently dressed in a black and violet suit. Not exactly a uniform or any kind of official designation, but that’s probably deliberate. 

He reaches out with a hand towards Reezah and displays a warm smile.  
“Welcome back, Major. It’s good to see you again. Been a while now, right?”

She shakes his offered hand and inclines her head.  
“It has indeed. And thanks, I think. The heat on the outside can get kinda bad.”

“Hah, well, that’s not really something we can do much about. You get used to it after a while, though.”

Elara watches him with interest and tilts her head curiously.  
“Hmm, I recognize you. Have we not met before?”

The man smiles and nods, offering his hand to her as well.  
“We have indeed. The name’s Zachary Decraine, alias Rhonin, D-bob and a whole bunch of other similar nonsense. Been with SIS for years now.”

Elara returns the gesture, while his appearance jogs her memory.  
“Oh yes, now I remember you. You helped us with a strike against an imperial convoy of some sort. Accompanied by a certain famous smuggler, I believe.”

Zach chuckles.  
“That’s true, yeah, although that was a couple of years ago, now. Things have changed. We did work well back then though, I believe.”

“I have to agree.”

“However, today, we have something different in mind for the two of you, which I’m sure you’re already aware of.”  
He glances between them and puts his arms behind his back.  
“Are both of you ready to go see Group Captain Dorne?”

His question forces both of them to breathe in, having to collect their thoughts and gather their courage.  
“Is he doing okay so far?”, Elara asks.

“Of course. We haven’t attempted any torture procedures against him, or anything like that. Not really our style; at least not at this facility.”

Reezah folds her arms.  
“Has he cooperated?”

“Well, he hasn’t fought against us physically, but he does provide quite a bit of resistance to any of our questions. We expected as much.”

Elara looks a little bit unsure.  
“That’s not why we are here, though.”

Zach raises his hand somewhat defensively.  
“Oh, don’t worry, we know. We understand you don’t wish to attempt interrogating him or anything like that, and don’t expect you to.  
However, we are kinda hoping that your presence might have some kind of impact on him. Family tends to do that.”

As they hear this, Reezah turns her eyes just a little bit to study Elara, seeing the predicted uncertainty on her girlfriend’s expression. Despite the fact that he’s an imperial, Reezah wouldn’t have expected her to remain unfazed by the idea that her words may be used to break down her father’s mental defenses.  
“You shouldn’t keep your hopes up, mister Decraine. My father has a hardened resolve and I doubt he will be swayed so easily by my words.”

“Maybe, maybe not – we won’t really know until we’ve tried. Nevertheless, it’s why my superiors are allowing this meeting.”  
He gestures onwards with his arm.  
“Shall we proceed?”

“Yes, please.”

He takes them further into the facility, past a few offices, until they arrive in a corridor filled with rooms having heavy security doors. Each of them have slots that is possible to use in order to look through, without being seen from the inside.  
Zach stops at a particular one and moves aside in order to let them approach it.  
“I’ll cancel the surveillance in this room for about half an hour. You can talk as much as you want during that time but, after that, you need to be done.”

Reezah gives him a look and inclines her head.  
“Don’t worry, we’ll probably be done before that.”

He unlocks the door and then leaves, allowing them to walk inside. The cell itself isn’t huge, but enough to appear like a fairly sizeable room to move around a little bit in. However, the initial area of it is secured with a forcefield and thick walls, almost like a fortified entrance hall or initial security booth. Through the field, Elara spots a very familiar man, dressed in grey civilian clothing. His beard is larger and thicker than before, not just surrounding his mouth, but stretching over his cheeks as well. She’s not sure if it’s deliberate or just a new style he wanted to test. 

The appearance doesn’t really matter per se, as the sight of him on its own is enough for Elara’s heart to beat somewhat faster and she senses an odd emotional combination of excitement and fear.  
Vasil sits by a desk in the room and slowly looks up, almost as if he’s uninterested in whomever has disturbed him; a sensation that quickly changes when he sees her. His eyes begin to widen in shock and he sits up straighter.  
“E…Elara?”

Elara opens her mouth, but she doesn’t really know how to begin.  
“Father…”

“What…what in the Emperor’s name are you doing here?!”

His rather sharp tone quickly brings her back to reality and she tries to push back any insecurities and doubts for later. For now, she needs to assess how far they can go.  
“I…wanted to speak to you, father. We managed to get permission through certain favors with the SIS.”

Vasil watches Elara, his daughter, which he hasn’t seen since she ran away from her home, and it’s pretty clear that he has to deal with a lot of personal issues of his own.  
However, soon enough, his expression grows agitated and his eyes drift elsewhere, while also raising his voice.  
“And what is this, hmm? Some new trick? Is this as far as the SIS are willing to go? Pathetic.”

Not quite the reaction Elara had expected and she seems to linger before thinking of a new response.  
“Father?”

He snorts derisively.  
“If this is it, then I am certainly not impressed. You won’t persuade me to give in this easily.”

“Father, please, this is no trick! It’s really me. I am not some impostor here to interrogate you.”

His sight travels back to hers and he frowns.  
“Then why would you come here?"”

“I…what? You are my father. All I want to do is converse with you. It’s been so long since I last saw you. I…didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.”

Vasil seems to study her for a while longer, and while he’s not entirely convinced, he does tone down the skepticism a little bit.  
“I will listen, for now.”

Elara sighs, shaking her head as she begins to pace somewhat. A part of her wants to reach out and see what he will do, but the forcefield prevents her from attempting.  
“I was worried for you, when I heard of your capture. Surprised, even. It didn’t quite seem like something you would fall for.”

“And why would you be concerned for me, after all you have done?”

She stops, watching him with some trepidation.  
“Wh-what do you mean?”

He frowns and slowly walks closer to her.  
“Don’t play innocent with me, Elara. Do you think I will ignore that you betrayed your home? Betrayed your family?”

Her eyes widen, knowing that this was one of those moments she had dreaded.  
“Father, please…it was never my intention to betray the family, I swear. I…I simply did what I believed was right.”

“What was right?! Joining the enemy and doing as they say was the right thing to do?! Have you lost your mind, girl?!”

She flinches and lets her eyes drift downwards, being unused to her father raising his voice like this.  
“Please…I didn’t come here to fight.”

“Then you made a stupid decision coming here in the first place! Did you really think I would not care that my child spat on everything that our family is supposed to stand for? Everything I taught you was for naught!”

“Father, listen to me! I didn’t mean to anger or disappoint you. All I wanted to do was-“

Vasil raises his hand in a manner to silence her, while he turns his back on her as well.  
“Enough. You may leave. I have nothing more to say to you. I may have had in the past, and it might’ve been possible for me to look past the first transgression, but not the second.”

Elara’s eyes look around searchingly, trying to understand his intention.  
“…second? What transgression?”

He slowly proceeds back to his chair while he shakes his head.  
“Not only did you turn your back on your family, your home and everything I taught you, but you also lured Aleksei over to the enemy as well. That is something I can never forgive.”

She now understands what he was talking about, but not his point of view.  
“Lured? What are you talking about? He chose this path on his own, father!”

“Chose it? Hah! Aleksei was always loyal, Elara! He would never simply leave us, unless someone manipulated him.”

Her shoulders slumps, not having realized that what she talked to her brother about, affected the others completely different than expected.  
“It’s not true! You have to listen to me, as you’re going on nothing but assumptions!”

Vasil moves towards his chair and then gradually sits down on it, sighing as he does.  
“When you were younger, I would never have believed that my children would disappoint me so immensely one day, so deeply and break my heart. If only I had known what a fool I was.  
Leave, Elara. I tire of having you here. There’s nothing you can do to ever make up for every way you have failed me.”

His words pierce her heart, pushing through her emotions and descends her into despair. A look of sadness is all that can be seen across her eyes and she lowers them while she backs away. She does her very best to hold back the tears that wants to push through, but it’s difficult. She can’t allow them to be free, not while he sees her. 

However, before she can get very far, the other woman in the room steps forth and approaches the forcefield. Elara’s sees her at the edge of her own sight, and notices the clenched fists.  
“Is that any way to speak to your child? To your daughter? I’ve met some terrible fucking people during my time, but not someone being as much of an ass as you are.”

Her words get the attention from both of the Dornes and Elara puts her hand against her girlfriend’s shoulder.  
“Reezah, please…”

Vasil frowns at her.  
“And who the hell do you think you are?”

“Major Reezah Hiktesh, commanding officer of Havoc squad.”

The anger is pushed aside, being replaced by surprise.  
“Ha…Havoc? You’re…you’re the damn-“

“And I’m also your future daughter-in-law.”

Elara gasps.  
“Reezah!”

Vasil was just about to get up, but falls back into the chair.  
“…excuse me?!”

Reezah doesn’t look smug or confident, simply angry and determined as she continues to glare at him.  
“Yeah, that’s right, you heard me. And you know what? There’s nothing you can do about it and you’re just going to have to live with that.”

Vasil tries to work the idea out in his mind, and seems to stumble over his thoughts.  
“My daughter-…  
She wouldn’t-…  
To fraternize with a…”

Reezah slams a hand against the forcefield.  
“With a what?! An alien?!”

“I don’t give a damn about what species you are! You’re a Republic war criminal!”

She begins to laugh, albeit rather bitterly.  
“Oh, that’s fucking rich, coming from an imperial lapdog. I’m sure you’re completely innocent in all things, right?”

He manages to stand up now and points at her in an accusatory fashion.  
“You and your squad are special ops, Major! You have murdered many imperials, of which I’m very well aware of! We’ve kept count of your atrocities.”

Reezah begins to frown, but not being deterred.  
“Yeah, I’ve killed a bunch of imps, and I don’t regret a thing. ‘Murder’ is an interesting term, seeing as how none of them were innocent. Compared to you, we fight for a good cause, for the people of the Republic.”

He sneers at her as he walks up closer, having nothing but the forcefield between them now, and places his arms behind his back.  
“Ah, yes, funny, isn’t it? You believe to be so much better than us and yet we are so much alike.”

“We’re not the same, you asshole! I fight for the people of the free galaxy! In whose name do you fight, huh? Slavers and butchers?”

“I fight for my country, for my home, just as much as you are!”

She continues to scowl and there’s a part of her that just wants to yell back at him, but she also realizes that’s not why they’re here.  
“I grow tired of this shit. Look, this isn’t about us, but Elara. You know why she joined us? Because she couldn’t just stand by and watch as the Empire slaughtered their way through the galaxy, committing heinous crimes all along the way, in the name of your twisted Emperor.  
The Empire’s ways are not something she could endure and after experiencing both sides, she is now committed to our path.  
In fact, you should be proud of what she has done. She followed her principles, the ones which you drilled into her from childhood. All she did was see the lies you keep yourself blind to.”

Vasil’s eyes are locked with hers and despite staring so intently, he doesn’t seem to grow all too agitated. Well, not more than he already is, of course.  
“I should be proud that my daughter chose to join the enemy’s army? You must be as stupid as you look.”

Reezah sighs and shakes her head.  
“There’s more to it than that, you idiot. Elara is a medic, not a killer.”

“Hmph. And you are trying to tell me that Elara has not killed a single imperial while wearing that uniform?”

“Yeah, okay, she has, but even more than that, she has saved countless soldiers and civilians.”

“Oh yes, saved the enemy which continues to strike at my fellow imperials once they’re up. Very noble!”

His sarcasm is practically palpable and his attitude gets to Reezah more than the opposite.  
“No matter what you believe, Captain, Elara has always followed her conscience. That is what drove her to leave the Empire and the sole reason she joined the Republic instead.”

For several moments, he stares at Reezah, as if he’s not quite done with trying to unsettle her. However, soon enough, he turns to address Elara instead.  
“Is this true? Your conscience was your real motivator? Nothing else, hmm?”

At first, Elara doesn’t wish to answer. The situation is rather volatile, and all they’re doing is yelling at each other. She’d rather have a proper conversation, with far more diminished hostilities. But, perhaps it’s best if she joins in at least a little bit.  
“She…is right, father. I couldn’t stay with the Empire anymore. I love my family, I loved many of my fellow soldiers, but your home is corrupt.”  
She speaks, but she can’t properly look at his eyes. It’s difficult to face him like this.  
“The orders I was given to follow…it wasn’t what you had promised me. The glorious dream of serving the moral center of the galaxy was false all along.  
At the time, I wasn’t sure if you had lied to me, or if you were just as blind as many others. Both aspects were…disconcerting.”

His scowl is now turned at her instead and he moves somewhat closer along the other side of the forcefield.  
“And the Republic is so much better? Do you truly believe that they do not do anything similar to us?”

She hesitates at first, before finally shifting her gaze upwards.  
“I do. I have seen what the Republic are capable of, and while they are far from perfect, they have principles; ones which the Empire eschews, because it is easier for them to win that way.”

He shakes his head in slight disappointment.  
“You’re a fool, Elara. They have tricked you, more so than the Empire ever could.”

“I know the soldiers of the Republic, father, I work with them. They are true to themselves, and avoid most heinous acts, such as killing civilians or using certain weapons which would be too cruel to utilize. They even do their best to abstain from torture.”

He scoffs and waves dismissively.  
“That is certainly untrue. All of those things are crimes which the Republic have indulged in when they ‘believed it was necessary’. Don’t try to claim otherwise, for I know.”

Elara exhales briefly, but understands she’s on the right track, at least for herself.  
“Yes, I know and they have been wrong for doing that, but in this society, at least we are able to fight back against it.  
What happens if we attempt the same act in the Empire, father? The Sith kill us and use us an example.”

Vasil’s response is somewhat delayed and while it’s hard to see any emotional reaction, it’s clear that he does hesitate somewhat.  
“This isn’t always true. Yes, some Sith are horrible and misuse their power, but many of them love their country just as much as I do, and as you did in the past. They will do the right thing and what is necessary for the entire galaxy.”

Elara studies her father, trying to see if he really believes it. The answer is ambiguous, at least on his part, but her own heart is rather clear.  
“You are just telling yourself that to be reassured.  
Ask yourself, have you never doubted the Sith? Never doubted the methods of the Empire for even a moment?”

His gaze is set towards her at first, and it seems to her as if he’s searching for the proper response. He may just try to present her with the predictable answer, but he hesitates. He knows that she would realize if he was lying, even if he tried to.  
Instead of giving her anything, he frowns and diverts his eyes elsewhere.  
“It doesn’t matter, Elara. I love my country too much to let such quandaries hinder my progress.  
When the Empire rules the galaxy, we will improve things on all levels. You will see.”

“Better for whom? For humans? For the Sith? And how many will have to die before you reach that dream?”  
Silence again. She sighs once more and shakes her head.  
“I don’t know why I did not realize this before – you have never really understood me, nor what drives me. I wanted to believe that we could get along, to be side by side, perhaps even invite you to be here with me and Aleksei.  
But…now I can see that you were blind to my feelings and beliefs. You never saw nor acknowledged my way and that is why we were pulled apart.”  
She folds her arms and turns away as well.  
“Perhaps it’s best if it stays this way.”

Without another word, she approaches the door, letting it slide open and leaves. Reezah gives him one last look, seeing how he remains where he is, distant and then follows Elara out.  
The couple walk together through the building, trying to ponder what they just went through. It isn’t until they’re back in the shuttle that Elara speak up.  
“I’m sorry, dear. This was a wasted trip.”  
She shuts her eyes and raises a hand to her forehead, rubbing it slightly.  
“Now I may have damaged your reputation, wasted a favor and received nothing in return. I should have seen this coming.”

However, she feels how an arm is gently wrapped around her and pulls her a bit closer.  
“Meh, it’s not that bad. You got to see your father, right? That was enough.”

Elara faces Reezah and tries to search her expression, but doesn’t turn out as satisfied by the conclusion.  
“But all we did was fight. How is that good in any way?”

“Yeah, okay, we may have, but I think it was positive as well. You clearly made a dent on him. Sure, may not show immediate results, but give it some time. I think it’s worth not giving up just yet.”

Elara remains skeptical.  
“I’m…not so sure.”

Reezah smiles at her, moving one of her hands around Elara’s.  
“Let’s just wait and see. I believe he may still open up eventually and seeing how he’ll be sitting in there for quite some time, we might as well give him the opportunity.” 

Her argument isn’t completely unreasonable, and while Elara felt herself going through a whole range of difficult emotions in there, perhaps it is not all lost.  
A few seconds later, Elara sighs and leans against Reezah’s chest.  
“I’m glad one of us is optimistic, at least.”

“Yeah, I surprised even myself this time.”

Closing her eyes, Elara smiles as she considers all that transpired.  
“So, daughter-in-law, hmm?”

Reezah blinks and then clears her throat.  
“Oh, uh, well, that was just a…spur of the moment thing. I was angry.”

“You didn’t mean it?”

Reezah arches an eyebrow and then chuckles, leaning down to plant a kiss on top of Elara’s hair.  
“You know I did.”

“I look forward to when you work up the courage to make it a reality.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _As you may have seen in his differing reactions, it's not just that someone confronting him with what the Empire does somehow convinces him that the Empire is wrong - it's when his daughter does it, that he doesn't know how to respond._
> 
> _Next time, I'm gonna write a little thing with a certain Jedi and Sith couple._


	40. Wishful past (SW + JK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Like I described yesterday on the other big Swtor fic I write, I created a chiss OC/Shae Vizla story last week and, well, that took up most of my writing schedule that week. But I'm back now! Let's move onto some romance fluff._

The skies darken, as night reaches a major population center on the northern hemisphere of Nal Shaloch. This world is fairly sizeable, and one of the more popular planets at the edge of hutt space, in terms of attracting neutral and criminal elements, as well as gathering freelancers and a steady flow of credits. Not as good as neither Nar Shaddaa nor Nal Hutta, obviously, but it does pretty well for something within its region. 

Another thing that this kind of world can often provide, is a refuge for people who want to stay out of the public eye from many of the other large factions in the galaxy, especially the Empire and Republic. Both of these factions obviously has outposts of their own on the surface, but their grasps do not reach very far.  
One individual who is searching for exactly that type of aspect, is moving through the streets of this city, doing her utmost to remain unremarkable and unnoticed. To increase this notion, she’s dressed in a set of robes with a cloak and hood around her, which is similar to the fashion from many of the locals here. Her appearance is nondescript and with the way she moves, it’s easily possible to hide herself in among the rest of the population. 

While she tries not to get spotted by the wrong people, she does constantly keep her own eyes open, as well as any other senses, wanting to be one step ahead of enemies, if there are any present.  
She’s not wandering aimlessly here, of course, as she has a very specific destination in mind. After about half an hour of walking through the city, she eventually arrives at the door to a building, an apartment complex, which she believes should be the correct one.

To reassure herself of this, she fetches a datapad from under her robes, eyes flickering back and forth between the front of the house and the display on the pad. Satisfied with her conclusion, she nods briefly and puts it back into her clothes.  
Before moving anywhere, she gives the area one last quick sweep, trying to make it seem as natural as she possibly can and then pushes the switch to open the door, moving inside. 

As it has no elevator, she has to take the stairs up, while constantly being somewhat on edge, fearing she might stumble into someone, no matter how unlikely that is.  
Nothing happens to her during the walk towards the right apartment however and when she stands in front of it, she looks at the button that is supposed to slide the automatic doors open. The one she had spoken to about meeting here, told her that it should be unlocked, and she hopes it was solid information. If it isn’t, she doesn’t know where to go. It’s not like she knows anyone on this world.

Fortunately, the entrance opens up for her without any problems, and allows her to enter. She does so rather swiftly, glad to be in an area which feels relatively safe. Not that she has been hunted so far at any step of the way, but knowing who likely set this whole arrangement up, she is constantly unsure if she can trust them.  
The most surprising part however, is that there seems to be no lights on, and the whole place looks dark, which wasn’t what she had expected. In this darkness, her appearance sticks out a little when she pulls off her hood – dark blue hair and skin, but most of all, red glowing eyes. 

She’s about to start checking the rooms, when a voice is heard on the other side.  
“Well well, and what do we have here? A sole Jedi, wandering in here all alone? She must be a fairly brave one.” 

Ktila twitches at first, even though she had sensed the presence, obviously, but not being able to pinpoint the exact location.  
Arching her brow amusedly, she also smiles and puts a hand on her hip.  
“Well, I don’t want to brag all too much, but, even most Sith tends to have respect for me.” 

Turning one of the lamps on and stepping out of the shadows, comes a tall and well-built twi’lek; as always dressed in her grey coat. The smirk Zal’riva has on her lips is more than enough to match Ktila’s.  
“And she’s pretty confident too, it seems.” 

Ktila shrugs nonchalantly.  
“Not really, just aware of my own abilities. 

“Tsk, sure you are.” 

When Zal strides towards her, Ktila lets her eyes wander.  
“Although, it looks like the Sith facing me is quite an intimidating sight. So strong, determined, self-assured…  
Should I be nervous?”

Zal stops right in front of her, wrapping an arm around Ktila’s waist and pulling her in very close. It’s executed very swiftly, making Ktila gasp as she rests her hands on Zal’s chest, while she looks up into the purple eyes above her.  
“Only if you fear all the indecent things she’s going to do to you.” 

Ktila can’t help herself when she chuckles and then lets her hands slide up towards Zal’s neck, wrapping her arms around it and joins with her partner in a long-anticipated kiss.  
Every time they meet like this, which is far too rarely in the chiss’ mind, the first one is always the sweetest. Perhaps not the best, nor the tastiest, but there’s a sense of desire and understanding between them, of equal yearning, which cannot quite be met later on. It’s similar to the last kiss they usually share, before they have to separate, albeit on the opposite side.

“It’s good to see you again”, she says softly, right after they give each other a few moments to breathe.

“Mm, you too.” 

While she continues to be held, she feels how Zal moves a hand over her back, and part of Ktila’s mind already feels like asking her to get in under her robes, but knows it’s best to wait with such activities. She’s not so young that she doesn’t know how to be patient to a certain degree.  
“How have you been?” 

Zal nudges her nose against Ktila’s, still looking into her eyes as well.  
“Personally, I’ve been doing pretty well as of late, but it’s a bit different in the Empire.”

“Oh? How so?”

“It has just been…”, she sighs and shakes her head, eyes drifting downwards, “hectic, I guess.  
Despite that we’re moving along without much problems on certain fronts, there’s still a lot of recovery that needs to be handled, due to my ascent and a few others. The death or dethroning of a few Dark Councilors does not make it much easier either.” 

Ktial nods, although she will admit that she finds little interest in whatever the Empire is doing. They’re not important to her.  
“I see. Well, frankly, I’m far more interested in your personal life.” 

Zal shares a look with her again and then shrugs.  
“Not a lot has been happening, honestly. I have to focus on what it means to hold my position, for the most part.”

Ktila sees and senses how one of Zal’s lekkus move, touching one of the chiss’ arms. The Sith herself simply stands there, focusing on Ktila, and it always makes her wonder if Zal even does this consciously. 

“However,” Zal continues, “Vette and Jaesa tends to get pretty vocal at times. Or, well, Jaesa doesn’t get loud exactly, but especially Vette complains about not getting to see Kira often enough. They both want to be with her.” 

Ktila smiles and shakes her head.  
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Kira does the same thing.  
Although, honestly…” While she continues to look into Zal’s eyes, one of her hands runs down the twi’lek’s cheek and further along her jaw. “I can relate to the sensation of missing someone you love. It can get pretty difficult at times.” 

Zal returns a similar expression then and they choose to close their distance once more, their lips enveloping one another. While this occurs, Ktila feels how one of Zal’s hands travel further down her body, which instinctively makes her push herself against her companion, on the verge of grinding against her. She’s definitely appreciative of getting to be together like this again. 

They don’t get caught in the moment all too much just yet, however, even though Zal’s hand still rests around her ass when she speaks again.  
“You know, Valcera has mentioned you a few times whenever we’ve spoken.” 

Ktila chooses to rest her head on Zal’s shoulder at this time, or at least as far as she can on it.  
“Has she? What does she talk about?” 

“She wants to see you, obviously.”

An answer she probably should’ve expected. Ktila has heard much of the mirialan Sith as well, and she’s quite intrigued.  
“I wouldn’t mind doing so, but there’s just been so much to do with the war and the Order.  
I’m always available on holocalls, though.”

“Perhaps, but I think she’s already aware of this. She would rather have your first meeting in person, though.”

“I guess we could, but I hope she understands it might take some time. Like, after this whole madness is over. Well, unless you want to bring her into one of our meetings.” 

Even as she says this, though, Zal is pretty sure she can hear a minor disapproving tone from what Ktila says. Naturally, she doesn’t want anyone intruding upon what little time they have together.  
“I’ll talk to her again, see what she has to say. She might have some ideas of her own.”  
Zal tilts her head and leans her mouth closer to Ktila’s ear, nibbling on its lobe.  
“But I don’t blame her for wanting to. You are much lovelier in person.” 

This makes Ktila giggle, while simultaneously trying to enjoy Zal’s treatment of her.  
She does wish to continue what they’re doing, but soon notices something not too far away, on the floor. She hadn’t seen it earlier, likely from being distracted by her feelings of seeing her girlfriend again.  
“What’s in the bag?” 

At first, Zal blinks, not quite understanding what she’s talking about. However, following her gaze, she notices the small white container and her expression instead turns into a rather mysterious smile.  
Letting go of Ktila, she moves to pick it up and then relocates to a nearby sofa only a couple of meters away.  
“You’ll see.” 

Being able to walk on her own again, Ktila takes the opportunity to observe the room she’s in, hoping to get a better view.  
It’s not the most luxurious of places to live, of course, but it’s still fairly clean and nicely decorated. In fact, it seems a little bit too personalized, which Ktila hadn’t quite expected. Someone clearly lives in here. 

“What is this place, by the way? It’s not yours, is it? I wouldn’t have thought you’d have something on a world like this.” 

Gesturing for Ktila to sit down with her, Zal smiles while she begins to rummage through the bag and what it holds.  
“Well, technically, it’s not mine. It belongs to Vette and her little gang. She has told you about them, right?”

Having the occasional opportunity to speak with some of Zal’s crew, due to the fact that they often meet together, she has heard a few stories, especially from Vette.  
“Oh, yeah, a twi’lek group, right? They hunted for lost artifacts and cultural items, I think.”

“That’s right. For a time, they stayed here on Nal Shaloch, as it was part of trying to have a location to fall back on, to rest and hide. It was a while ago since they actually had to live here though.  
Apparently, Vette decided to keep the contract, as the rent is fairly cheap, in case they’d need another hiding spot in the future.  
Some of that rent had stacked up, while she was initially captured on Korriban, but she could pay that off with some of the salary I pay her with.” 

Ktila looks amused and folds her arms while she smirks at Zal.  
“A hiding spot, huh? Or if a Sith friend of hers needs to arrange a secret meeting, I guess?” 

Zal chuckles.  
“Well, it is beneficial in that capacity as well.  
Now, come on, sit down.”

As Ktila goes to take her place on the relatively large furniture, she sees how Zal lifts up several items from it and places them on the table. The most notable is a small yellow box, which fits into both her hands, as well as a bottle that she sets down not far from it.  
“What’s all this?”

Zal turns her gaze in Ktila’s direction, and puts a hand down on both objects.  
“This is a cake, and this over here is a bottle of Renan wine.” 

It appears that Zal is still suspiciously amused, which confuses Ktila. Why has she planned all this? Not that it’s an immense amount of preparation, but more than she expected.  
“O…kay. Are we uh, celebrating something?” 

Zal watches her and slowly inclines her head.  
“In a way, yes.”

Ktila looks around searchingly, rummaging through her own mind in hopes of finding anything which might provide an answer. Unfortunately, she has no such luck.  
“What am I missing here?” 

The Sith doesn’t seem like she’s disappointed or anything, but she does lean back in her seat, possibly even finding it a bit funny that she needs to provide context.  
“According to the Republic Standard Calendar, today is the date for when the two of us first met, on Nar Shaddaa.” 

Suddenly, Ktila widen her eyes in surprise, before her expression shifts to a light smile. She soon shuts them instead and sighs.  
“Shit. I’m sorry, Zal.” 

Zal merely chuckles again and leans over to put her hand on Ktila’s thigh.  
“It’s alright, darling. I’m not surprised that you would forget. You’ve obviously got a lot on your mind.”

Ktila doesn’t seem to be as fine with it, though, and she moves her own hand onto Zal’s, meeting her gaze.  
“No, I should’ve remembered. It’s an important date, for both of us.” 

Zal shrugs, still keeping her rather pleasant smile in Ktila’s direction.  
“Well, I thought as much, at least, but it’s not always easy to remember these things.  
I was going to say something last year, but we were both too busy for any such frivolous activities. However, it seemed like we might both be free this time.” 

She constantly seems to forget that Zal is a lot more romantic than what she’s given credit for. It also helps her with realizing something else.  
“So, that’s why you had to be so specific with the day.” 

“Pretty much. As you didn’t say anything, I already figured that you hadn’t realized.”

Ktila decides to switch location, sitting up so that she can slide closer to Zal and intertwines their fingers.  
“Maybe I can make up for it somehow. I don’t want you to feel like I don’t care enough about this.” 

Zal watches her for a few moments, before raising her free hand up into Ktila’s hair, running her fingers through it.  
“Like I said, it’s alright. You don’t need to worry, as I’m not angry. I’m simply glad that you are here and we could be together this year. That is enough for me.” 

Wanting to show her affection still, Ktila leans closer and lifts her other hand up to Zal’s cheek, while pulling her into another kiss.  
“I’m lucky to have you.” 

“You certainly are”, she says, with an added wink.  
Shortly after that, she appears slightly awkward.  
“Although, there is something you could do for me.” 

“Name it. I’ll do anything.” 

Pulling her hands away, Zal digs them down into the bag again, and Ktila is surprised to see her pull out another package, this one in red with a gold ribbon on top.  
“I would appreciate if you open this gift I bought for you.” 

Widening her eyes in surprise, Ktila isn’t sure how to react.  
“Wait, you…you got me something else?”

“Of course. This is an important day.” 

Ktila sighs and shuts her eyes again.  
“Zal, this is…almost too much. I feel so stupid right now.” 

Zal laughs gently and wraps an arm around Ktila’s shoulders, pulling her close.  
“Don’t be. It’s not all too spectacular.” 

“It’s still a present! I don’t have anything to give you in return!”

“I don’t care.”  
She raises her hand to Ktila’s chin, making her look up somewhat.  
“I’ve never had someone who matter as much as you do to me, which is why I haven’t had the chance to give someone gifts like this. I simply relish the opportunity to share what I can and make you happy.” 

Even though she’s reluctant, Ktila manages to smile and accept the package when it’s given to her.  
“Alright, I…I suppose I can do that much, at least.” 

When she begins to unwrap the present – which Zal notices, she does with precision and delicacy – the Sith feels like there has to be some kind of context.  
“Do you remember when I told you that Jaesa gave me this?” 

Ktila diverts her eyes to look at where Zal is indicating and observes the grey coat.  
“Yes?”

“To her, this was not just to cement our teacher-student relationship, but she also wanted me to have something to remember her by. While we see each other fairly often, she always knew that we wouldn’t be together forever, and no matter what happened, I would know that this coat shows how important I am to her.”  
She actually begins to smile somewhat wistfully when she considers it again.  
“I…truly enjoyed that sentiment, and therefore, I wanted to do something similar for you.” 

When she finally gets the box open, Ktila finds herself looking at a piece of cloth. She takes it out and starts to unwrap it, finding that she’s holding what seems like a shawl in a grey color – quite similar to the coat. However, the center has a fairly different piece.  
On it, she can see how a red sun is displayed over a horizon, shining down over a dark blue ocean, which allows them to connect, interwoven through time and space.

Ktila watches it for several silent seconds, while she runs her thumbs over it, almost unable to speak at first.  
“Stars. Zal…”

In the meantime, Zal is stroking her hand very gently over Ktila’s back, moving in slow, comforting motions.  
“With this, it might at least help you think of me, whenever I’m not around.”

The joy from Ktila’s lips, clearly reaches her eyes as well and she lifts it, wrapping it around her own neck and shoulders, seeing how it might fit fairly well with some of her clothes. Most of all though, she likes the contrast to the woman next to her.  
Standing up, she relocates in order to sit down on Zal’s lap. She slides her arms around the Sith’s neck again and pull her into another passionate union. It is far more eager now, and Zal is certainly delighted when she senses the caressing motions over her lekkus, something which almost only Ktila knows how to perform.

“Sometimes, I forget that you’re not just a sexy brute.” 

Zal laughs during their short break.  
“Glad to know that you remember.” 

Their intimacy continues, getting more and more deliberate by the second, as they are both aware how much they want and need each other. One might think that they should take the time to enjoy the cake and drinks which Zal brought, but it’s hard to tear themselves away from what they have now. It can wait until later, anyhow.

During their session, Zal has been gradually repositioning Ktila and is now pushing her down into the sofa. This gets Ktila’s attention.  
“Ehm, Zal?”

The twi’lek seems to know why she’s questioning it, by the knowing smirk on her lips.  
“What? We’re alone and this sofa is very…comfortable.” 

Ktila returns a similar expression, but also arches a questioning brow.  
“Uh, but isn’t this Vette’s place?”

“Yes, but I don’t see her anywhere right now. Do you?”

Ktila giggles, as she allows Zal to continue, finally feeling how the robes stars to part and reveal the rest of her body. By the time that Zal has begun biting softly at her neck, Ktila is already too busy moaning pleasantly to care about what others think anyway. They’re sure that Vette will understand, if she ever finds out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Okay, you can use my private apartment for this meeting. But Zal?"_   
>  _"Yes?"_   
>  _"Don't have sex on my stuff, please."_   
>  _"Sure, Vette. Sure."_
> 
> _Zal doesn't exactly follow the Republic calendar or anything, but knows Ktila does. In the future, she'll probably use this excuse to have two "anniversaries", with one for the Imperial calendar too._   
>  _Also, Nal Shaloch is this random place I made up for the fic I wrote last week. Reading that one will not really give any further insight into the world but...it's a good fic!_   
>  _Okay, it's not great, but it's there._


	41. One line apart (JC)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I always feel like I stumble a bit whenever I try to write Iron. I find it difficult to properly know how I want her to be, which is probably because she has aspects to her which I'm not as familiar with. This is, of course, part of why I continuously try to explore her, though._

Autumn has arrived in the region around the Jedi Temple on Tython. Despite the withering vegetation, the cold winds and the occasional rain, the initiates at the temple are told by some of their masters that they cannot let this deter them, as a Jedi should be able to resist all weather conditions, through the aid of the Force.   
One such master who agrees with this sentiment, is Iron’zeranz. While she’s not one of the regular teachers, as she’s usually expected to be on the frontlines against the Empire, she does enjoy coming here to help out now and then. While some of the initiates are uncertain of her, others find her interesting to learn from, often because of the methods she decides to utilize.

Around the outskirts of the temple grounds, close to a bunch of trees with a lot of fallen leaves, Iron sits in front of the students with her legs crossed. To the side, observing the lesson itself, is her padawan, Nadia. Most of the initiates present are only a few years younger than the sarkhai, although none of them have reached as far into the process of understanding the Force just yet.

Compared to her, they also watch with widened eyes how Iron, without moving, raises a lightsaber up into the air and uses the Force to dismantle it. She takes apart every piece, every little detail and spread them out across the area above her, letting them spin around her.

“Using the Force for this kind of delicate activity may seem to be difficult and intricate, as if my mind must be working on an advanced level. This is an illusion, as taking mechanical pieces like this apart is no more difficult than floating something much larger than yourself, or sensing essence of life through the Force.”

As Iron speaks, Nadia observes the students and what they do in the meantime. Most merely sit and observe, while a few also seem to take notes. However, one particular initiate, a female mirialan, appears to be watching Iron rather intently, instead of the item she’s using. 

“The key”, Iron continues, “is not to focus on the pieces themselves, but on one’s mind. You must be in complete control of yourself, with your head clear of distractions.   
When you relinquish your thoughts of any disturbing factors, eventually, it all begins to connect.” 

They see how she lifts her hands and the components of the lightsaber moves around her arms. Nadia has seen her perform similar things on the battlefield, when using objects as shields or to deflect enemy attacks.

“You will feel that the distance between you and the items in your vicinity, will cease to be. Everything becomes like a flowing river and you are all simply part of its motion, following along the stream. Suddenly, what may have seemed impossible, will be as easy as putting on clothes.” 

She raises her hands and holds one above the other. At the same time, she uses the Force to make the components of the lightsaber appear in between them and once more attach to one another, as she slowly puts the lightsaber back together again. She grabs the handle when it’s finished.

“This is the same technique that many Jedi use on the battlefield. With enough training and concentration, it is even possible to deflect blaster bolts and see beyond the barriers of the physical, to heal.”

As she is done, the students all smile and seem fairly impressed, even though many of them appear doubtful too.  
“That’s amazing, master Iron. But, will we ever be able to get that far?”, one of them asks.

She inclines her head in return.  
“In time. You should start slowly with these sorts of exercises. Take something small apart, like a box or a chair, before you gradually work yourself up. No one becomes an expert immediately.”

Which, of course, isn’t entirely true. Some have a better affinity for the Force than others, something she is aware of, as she was one of them.   
Naturally, she doesn’t tell them this, as she doesn’t wish to discourage anyone. Some of the other masters told her that the truth is not always the best way to teach, as it is better to simply give them hope. 

“Remember”, she adds, “to always work on your ability to focus. It is the most vital tool for a Jedi, both in combat and in peace.  
Now then, I believe we are done here. You are dismissed.”

Most of them then get up and almost seem to have forgotten that they were outside, with the cold autumn wind blowing around them. That she manages to be this captivating isn’t all too surprising to Nadia, but she’s glad she’s not the only one affected like this.  
While they leave the area, Nadia stands up with her master and closes the distance between them, having a smile on her lips.

“That was an interesting class, master. You’re getting pretty good at this.” 

Iron turns to face her and nods briefly.  
“I am glad you enjoyed it. In fact, I believe you may benefit from some of these concentration exercises yourself. Perhaps we should try some together, later on.” 

Nadia smirks at her, although she’s unsure if it was a joke or not.  
“Hey, I was trying to be nice! Don’t start judging my skills now!”

“I am still your teacher too, Nadia. Your training is just as important to me as any of these initiates; perhaps even more so.”

She calms down a bit, nodding with a sense of understanding.   
“Yes, of course, I know. I appreciate your concern, master, but I’ll be fine.   
Although, guess it wouldn’t hurt to try some of them for a little bit.” 

As they stand around and possibly prepare to return to the temple together, they both notice some movement coming in their direction and see how someone approaches them. It is the young mirialan Nadia noticed earlier. She moves rather quickly, but her eyes are diverted to the ground and if Nadia were to guess, she’d say this one looks somewhat embarrassed.

She stops a couple of meters away and speaks with a slightly shaking voice.  
“T-thank you for the i-interesting class today…master Iron.”

Iron watches her and inclines her head lightly.  
“You are welcome.”

“It’s…it’s always g-good to have erm, a teacher who is so understanding.” 

“I try my best. It has not always been as smooth, but I suppose I must be improving, if my students enjoy their time with me.” 

The young woman looks up and nods eagerly.  
“We do! Or, well…I do.”  
She has her hands behind her back, but soon shifts them to her front. While she does, they both notice some kind of small box in her hands, which she fidgets with.  
“I uh…I wanted to give this to you, as thanks f-for all your hard work.”

She reaches out with both her hand to offer the box to Iron. The miraluka takes it, but seem confused.  
“What is it?” 

Nadia studies the initiate while she stands there, seeing how there’s a clear darkening color on her light green cheeks.   
“It’s uhm, Haddaza cake”, she informs them. “It is one of the desserts that they make around my home region, on Mirial.   
I saw that the kitchen here in the temple uh, received some of the ingredients, so I decided to try making it.” 

Both Nadia and the other young woman clearly see how Iron turns her attention down to the box for a moment, before looking at her again.  
“I see. I did not anticipate this. Thank you. This was very thoughtful of you.” 

Nadia notices how the blush gets even more prominent and she smiles shyly as well, thanks to Iron’s words.  
“Y-you’re welcome! I erm, I hope you enjoy it!”

She quickly turns on her heel and leaves almost as quickly as she arrived.   
Iron merely stands there for a few moments, before she looks down at the box in her hands, as if she’s not sure what to do with it. 

At the same time, Nadia appears quite amused.  
“That girl, I think she likes you.” 

“Of course. I doubt she would have given me this, if she did not.” 

This makes Nadia chuckle, as she somehow believes that her master isn’t quite following.  
“No, I mean, she _really_ likes you. Every time she comes to see you, she starts to blush.  
At least to me, this is some pretty obvious signs that she’s into you.” 

When Iron turns to her, there’s a slight look of surprise on her face. She may not have eyes like many other species, but the way her mouth parts very slightly and how she takes a few seconds to absorb it, is something which Nadia has been able to read as something of an emotional reaction. Many others might not, but Nadia has spent enough time with her master now, to understand.

“Really?”, she asks, although her tone is even, just as it often tends to be.   
“Hm. I hadn’t noticed.” 

“Heh, yeah, not much of a surprise there.”  
She doesn’t need to point out why, as Iron can be rather unaware of what others perceive to be obvious social cues. It doesn’t really bother Nadia, as she thinks it’s fun to help her out instead.  
“It’s kinda cute, though.” 

“Perhaps, but it would be inappropriate to act upon.” 

“Yeah, I agree. The age difference is a bit too much between you two.”  
She smiles and tilts her head curiously.  
“Maybe if she was a bit older, perhaps there might’ve been something there.” 

Iron simply shakes her head.  
“No, I would never act upon it. There is no reason for such actions.” 

While Iron starts to walk away, her pace isn’t all too quick and Nadia can easily follow her.   
Now that they’ve started on this topic, the nature of it kinda intrigues her.   
“Hey, we don’t talk a lot about your…you know, relationship status.” 

“Should we be?”

“Well…I guess we don’t _have to,_ but it can be an interesting topic.”

“If you say so.” 

She watches Iron, trying to spot any disapproving notions, but for now, it remains ambiguous.   
“I’m aware that Jedi are told not to seek out relationships like that, but you’ve always made it clear to me that you don’t care as much about those parts of the rules. Right?”

“You are correct. If a Jedi wishes to explore such aspects of existence, I feel that they should be allowed to. I believe it can lead to a larger understanding of life, and in turn, the Force.”

Nadia nods, as she definitely tends to feel similarly to her master in this regard.  
“So, why aren’t you with anyone?”

Unbeknownst to the padawan, Iron has received similar questions in the past. They only really abated when she joined the Jedi, as it is not a concern here.  
“I find no interest in such things.” 

“You mean you don’t care about…companionship?”

“Yes.” 

Nadia looks quite interested.  
“Not at all?” 

“No.” 

She doesn’t know if she is actually all that surprised to hear this response, as it almost seems obvious to her now.  
“I see. Is it just because romance isn’t interesting or something?”

Iron is about to respond in the expected manner at first, but then halts herself when she actually decides to listen to the words.  
“I…didn’t specifically say that.”

“No? I thought that’s what you meant.”

“Romance is…an interesting prospect, to a certain degree, which I have enjoyed in the past and might do again at some point. However, there are other aspects of such connections.” 

“Like what?”

Iron sighs briefly, and decides to slow her pace a bit. She doesn’t really wish to walk into the temple talking about this.  
“I do not share the interest in…physical attraction, which I have sensed in others.” 

Nadia suddenly realizes what she’s talking about and actually doesn’t find it very surprising. Iron has never expressed any opinions which would point to such things, after all, despite not being one who believes emotions needs to be tightly controlled.   
“Guess I should’ve figured that out already.   
Has it always been like that for you?” 

“As far as I know, it has.” 

“Does that mean you’ve never had a relationship before? I mean, romantic ones.” 

Iron shakes her head a bit.  
“No, I have been with a few people in the past, but a very small number.”  
She seems to contemplate her response for a few more moments, before she continues.  
“It was those experiences which made me realize that it might be best to avoid them.” 

Nadia realizes that the age gap between her and Iron isn’t huge, but it still means that Iron might have more experience overall.  
“Was it a long time ago since the last one?”

“Not all too long. A few years.” 

“Had you become a Jedi back then?”

“Yes. I was in the early stages of being a padawan at that point, after having been transferred here by the Luka Sene.” 

Nadia smiles, still glad to hear that Iron ignored the rules the Jedi gave her, even if she might not have intended to.   
“Well, that’s nice, I suppose.   
Does this kind of thing happen often to you?”

“Not regularly, but occasionally. I have turned down more than I have been with, however.” 

“Because of the uh, physical aspects?”

“Yes.” 

She nods and folds her arms. It’s not that she finds it strange that Iron would feel this way, but she wants to somehow understand her master better. The only way she can really think of how to do this, is to ask.  
“Do you find it annoying? That people want to be with you, I mean.”

Iron ponders her response, which makes her linger for several seconds in silence. Eventually, she stops and turns to face Nadia.  
“It depends which aspect we speak of. I don’t mind the interest per se, but sometimes the prodding becomes quite frustrating.   
It is not that I lack the interest in having the connection itself, but it’s simply easier to disregard them early on, instead of having to explain. Some people do not understand my point of view, and continuously having to reiterate it, can get tiring.” 

Suddenly, Nadia feels a bit stupid and diverts her eyes to the ground.  
“Oh, I’m sorry. I…hope I’m not being annoying about it.”

Moments after that, she feels one of Iron’s hands on her shoulder.  
“You are not. I don’t mind explaining it to you, Nadia, because your curiosity is a welcoming prospect. I know your reasons and do not feel they are intrusive.   
In the past, I have done the same for others, but not everyone is as open-minded as you. They find my mindset to be strange.”

Nadia looks up again, glad that she’s not bothersome to her master, but she also doesn’t like that she has to live with these types of problems.  
“I…don’t know what to say. I feel sorry for you, master, that people don’t appreciate you for who you are. They’re missing out too, because I think you’re amazing.”

“Thank you. However, there is no need for pity, as I am not unhappy with the way I am. If others disagree, I do not care.” 

A sentiment she can definitely respect.  
“Well, as far as that goes, I definitely agree.  
Personally, I uh…don’t have a lot of experience, although I feel it’s always nice for people to have someone.”

Iron is the one to display some curiosity now instead.  
“You would want a companion of your own someday?”

“I hope so, yeah. At least when I talk to Kira about…you know, I envy her a little bit. She really seems to enjoy herself.”

“Well, then I shall hope that you find what you are looking for.” 

Nadia smiles once more, but as they return to the road back to the temple, she doesn’t feel ready to leave the subject entirely.  
“Hey, if you actually like just having romance, maybe I can help you find someone? Like I said, don’t know all too much about it, but I’d want to help you if I can.” 

Iron shakes her head in response.  
“That will not be necessary.”

“Oh. Uh, why not?”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Nadia, but it would complicate my life too much in its current state.   
Besides, if I really wished for this aspect to return to my life, I would prefer to search for it myself. I am not clueless in such matters.” 

Nadia clears her throat and looks a bit embarrassed again.  
“Y-yeah, you’re…probably right. I’m sorry, again. I don’t mean to be pushy, master.” 

Iron faces Nadia again as they walk, and the padawan feels that her expression might’ve softened somewhat.  
“It is alright, you don’t need to feel that way.   
However, there is no need to worry that I am ever lonely, for this is not the case. I value other things in life, such as the friendships I have made.   
You, Qyzen, Felix – you are all important people to me, and the relationships which we have, are something that I value quite highly.”

Her words make Nadia’s face shine up into a bright smile, which she often seems quite capable of doing. Iron doesn’t mention it, but she likes to see her padawan happy.  
“Thank you, master. You…mean a lot to me as well.” 

“I am glad to hear it.”  
They finally reach the entrance to the temple, but before they enter, she hesitates somewhat.   
She looks down at the object in her hands and then back at Nadia.  
“This cake may be a bit too much for me to eat alone. Would you like to share it with me?”

Nadia closes the distance between them and places a hand on Iron’s arm.  
“Yes! I would love to try some.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I know I've already mentioned that Iron is asexual, but I didn't feel it was enough to simply mention it on the outside, if it's not mentioned somewhere in the story too._   
>  _I'm not entirely satisfied with the result, but whatever. I tried._


	42. At the forgotten crossroads (IA)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Before we begin with this week's chapter, I just wanna say thanks for the support from those who have commented throughout this story. I often feel...well, doubtful of my skills as a writer, and whether something is actually interesting/funny/relatable etc. And hearing that people actually enjoy reading it means a lot._   
>  _This is not to say that I hope everyone comments or whatever. Don't feel any pressure that you need to. In fact, I extend this thanks to those who have given kudos too, as it's something I appreciate a lot._

Red Blade. It’s been a long time since anyone has called Cierah by that alias, and definitely not something she had expected to hear anytime soon. It was the name utilized to either bait or summon her, not all too long ago and as few would know of this being her identity, it drew her attention.  
Following the coordinates in the anonymous message handed to her, she took her ship out into a neutral sector of the galaxy and when she now exits hyperspace, she picks up no signatures of civilizations or other inhabited areas nearby, except for a small and seemingly abandoned space station. 

Flying her ship closer, as she sees no other alternatives, the scanners does eventually pick up something from the station, when she gets close enough – weak sensor readings of an active life support system inside. This means that it’s either going through a slow death, or someone has activated those parts of the vessel. The only way to find out is to get in there.

For whatever reason, Cierah has a hunch that it might be an ally waiting for her in this solitary region, but she doesn’t wish to take risks and therefore tells everyone else to wait for her in the ship while she checks the place out alone. Both Raina and Kaliyo protest, for different reasons – Raina being worried and Kaliyo wanting some action – but they have no choice other than to listen to her. She is in charge, despite the current lack of proper ranks.

It’s been a while since she did any infiltration missions like this, and therefore feels somewhat rusty when she gets into her slim armor, which protects her from the vacuum of space, but isn’t meant to endure heavy damage. She takes the sniper rifle with her as well, just in case.  
As they have already docked, she walks towards the airlock and gets inside, moving through the station’s own interior system for venting air and enters the corridors within.

It is dark and silent when she takes her first careful steps within the empty hallways. As she doesn’t want to take any risks, she decides to wait by the first door she gets through and lets her gaze sweep the area. The somewhat simpler sensors on her armor picks up oxygen in the air and no hazardous elements, which she takes as a good sign. 

Holstering the weapon on her back and putting her fingers close to the lower neck region of the armor, she clicks a button, making air push out through short hisses, before she lifts off the helmet. Shortly after, her cybernetic eye unfolds and she begins to scan the region properly, searching for security systems, surveillance equipment, patrols or other active dangers. Fortunately, she locates none of these and she is starting to accept that her hunch may have been correct.

With the helmet held under her left arm, she continues onwards, keeping the cyber-eye open for now, to search for life signs instead. It pays off just a few minutes later, when she spots someone past at least two more doors, further inside the facility. From what she can see of them, they don’t appear to be hiding or preparing an ambush, merely waiting.  
When she finally arrives at the correct location, she realizes why, if not by the appearance, then certainly the voice.

“So, you finally found us, Cipher. Took you long enough.” 

Cierah walks out far enough that they can both see each other fully, keeping no secrets between them, as it should’ve always been, in her opinion. It appears he still hasn’t been able to shrug off the title he once gave her.  
“Minister of Intelligence. I figured it would be you, but I could not be certain. It wasn’t easy to locate you, I will admit.” 

The title is no longer appropriate for what he is, but it’s all she knows. She finds it even more intriguing to see him out of his typical imperial uniform and instead standing in some simple black clothes. That way, he looks much more like the agents he often sends out on missions, rather than their leader.  
“I know. It was unfortunate, but also a necessity. Our current situation has forced us to take drastic measures, in order to stay hidden.” 

“Don’t worry, I understand.”  
She gains a slightly amused look on her face.  
“It was certainly an…interesting trail.” 

He puts his hands behind his back.  
“I apologize for being so vague, Cipher, but I had faith you would understand.”

“You operate on faith? This is news to me.”

“I have little else these days.” 

Cierah shakes her head briefly and lets her cyber-eye shut automatically.  
“I don’t mind, for the most part. It was interesting to hear its usage again, seeing how it’s practically forgotten at this point.” 

“Hence why I figured it would pique your interest. We have had to hide and therefore had no other options than to utilize whatever we could spare as a lure.”  
He hesitates for a moment, although it is hardly even noticeable, other than the brief pause.  
“How have you been?” 

She’s almost taken aback by the question, as it wasn’t something she had expected to hear.  
“You actually care?”, she says, rather skeptically. “Quite a surprise.” 

The Minister sighs as he diverts his eyes away somewhat.  
“Despite what you may believe, Cipher, I always did what I thought would be the best for you. I cared for you, just as I did with the others.”

“You had a peculiar way of showing it.” 

“I knew that you, out of all my agents, could handle yourself. However, I am quite aware of what a difficult time you had and I tried my best to support you where others couldn’t see. It wasn’t always possible for me to relay this information to you either.” 

She watches him in silence for a few moments, before she snorts somewhat amusedly and shakes her head.  
“I was merely jesting, Minister”, she points out, but this isn’t entirely true. Having felt practically abandoned back then, it has been difficult for her to let go of that resentment. However, in this current situation, she merely wanted to see how he would defend himself.  
“I know your feelings in the matter by now and I don’t judge you for doing what needed to be done. Perhaps I did at some point, but it changed when I saw the logic behind it all.” 

He inclines his head in gratitude.  
“I appreciate the sentiment, but the question still stands.” 

She switches which arm holds the helmet and shrugs.  
“I get by. There are enemies all around me at virtually all times, and they often take the opportunity to strike.”  
She raises her free hand to scratch at her forehead, while she looks down at the floor.  
“At times it gets…tiring. But I know what is at stake and I cannot let myself rest.” 

The Minister watches her expression and can certainly see it now, if he analyzes her. Sometimes, he thinks he can see flashes of exhaustion, signs which she most likely tries to hide.  
“You should give yourself some time, now and then. It will do you good.”  
He notices how she opens her mouth as if to say something, but he raises a hand to interrupt her.  
“Yes, I know you will likely claim that you will rest when you are dead, or something similar, but I would prefer that you don’t. I fear that this scenario may actually happen, and soon too, rather than later.” 

She rolls her eye and looks a bit annoyed.  
“You underestimate me.”

“Quite the opposite, but I also know your limits. You still have your team, don’t you? You should try to rely more on them than you already do.” 

Cierah doesn’t enjoy his scrutiny anymore and waves dismissively.  
“How are you doing, then? You must have had a difficult time as well.”

He may recognize her dismissal, but plays along for now.  
“It has been similar to yours, as it has been for many others.”

“You communicate with them still?”

“Some, but Intelligence is in complete disarray these days, after the attack against us. Very little of our old networks remains, and it makes it difficult to keep in touch. Our resources stay intact, but most of it is held by the Dark Council.”  
He gestures at her.  
“Their hunt for you has been…beneficial for many of our remaining members. They were able to flee, when our enemies focused on you and the Codex, rather than most others.” 

Cierah snorts briefly.  
“I was bait, hmm? Well, I suppose I’m at least the most adept at staying alive, so it might have been a fair deal.” 

The Minister nods in agreement, before he continues.  
“That said, the lower ranks in our organization were never really prepared for what was about to occur, and therefore, the Sphere, along with the rest of the Dark Council, seized control. As of right now, I’m not aware of the full details, but I believe they’re likely the only personnel left of Darth Zhorrid’s powerbase.”

“They were allowed to live?”

“Of course. She needed them and they did not know as many harmful secrets as the rest of us.”  
He furrows his brow and Cierah thinks he looks rather troubled for a short while.  
“Unfortunately, the Watchers, Minders, Fixers and Ciphers of various high ranks, have not been given the same…mercy. Many have gone underground and stay as silent as they possibly can, but many more have either been killed or captured. I rarely hear from most of them anymore, and when I do, there is little else I can offer than advice or simple support.” 

Cierah frowns as well as she places the helmet over her chest and folds her arms around it.  
“They wouldn’t rather keep them alive?” 

“It hasn’t been a simple thing to do. Many believe that the Sith are out to kill them and therefore would rather fight to the death. And then there is of course the Republic, the Hutt Cartel, bounty hunters and many others who would want to get ahold of us, for various reasons. It is difficult to know what you might face.” 

She can’t help but feel somewhat saddened at the prospect. She may not have known most of the other Ciphers, Minders and whatnot, but she can certainly guess what they faced, based on her own experiences. It makes her feel an odd sense of sympathy for them and even more so that they are all hiding out there, in the darkness of the galaxy, never knowing if they will be safe. She wonders if she should put them on the list of things to find in the future. 

“I believe I understand the dilemma”, she tells the Minister. 

He nods curtly and then hesitates once more, seeming somewhat reluctant if he should continue.  
“I hope you remember Watcher 24.” 

“Of course I do. His guidance helped me along early on in my career. Have you heard from him?” 

“I did, but only briefly. He gave a short report about some of those who hunted him, before he disappeared.”  
He exhales audibly.  
“I am sorry, Cipher. From everything I’ve been able to examine of the news from the region he hid in, I believe he was killed. Someone made it appear as an accident and left him nameless.” 

Cierah doesn’t show any emotions on her features, but there is something boiling beneath the surface.  
“That is…unfortunate. He was a good and loyal agent, and deserved better.” 

“I agree and it seems to be the case for many who have fallen as of late.”  
He shakes his head, and shuts his eyes.  
“It is almost amusing, or at least ironic, that we managed to take down such a powerful organization as the Star Cabal, but they gave us the same deathblow right after their own fall.” 

She can see what he means, and while neither are laughing, they certainly look at it in a similar way.  
“Perhaps, but we are still alive and they are not. That has to count for something.” 

“Alas, this can only barely be seen as the truth. Soon enough, we may be as distant of a memory as they are.”  
He turns his gaze towards her again.  
“At the same time, the Empire is now more vulnerable than ever. My pride may have taken a hit after the Sith struck us down, but I still care for my homeland, which I’m sure is an emotion that you share. It is foolish of them to not see this error.”

Cierah shrugs again, knowing what it’s like to live on the border between love and hatred of what she would once call her home.  
“It is the nature of the Empire, I suppose.” 

“Perhaps, but it cannot last forever. At some point, they will need to rebuild some sort of Intelligence organization, unless they wish to wait until the Republic turns the tide. You know how important information gathering is in this war.”

“I do, but few Sith tend to agree. They are too absorbed by their delusions of power.”  
Despite the slight anger in her voice, she manages to calm down and see the other aspect of what she’s feeling.  
“But I know what you’re trying to say, and it will be difficult to attain, but I do still have some contacts in the Empire that I trust. I do my utmost to help them, often by delivering valuable intel. I do have the means, after all.” 

The Minister inclines his head in agreement.  
“I’m glad to hear it. The Empire will have need of you, if they intend to survive.” 

For a few seconds after this, they stand there in silence, as both of them contemplate questions they likely want answered, but feel unsure if it is worth asking. Eventually, Cierah is the one to give in first.  
“Do you…know anything about Keeper’s situation and what happened to her?” 

Of course she would ask this. She’s probably the one most concerned out of all those who knew her.  
The Minister simply stares at her to begin with, until he turns around and gestures with his hand for her to follow. While she still feels somewhat skeptical, she gives in and does as he suggests.  
The two of them walk through another set of corridors, most of them only having a few minor lights within, but a lot of it remaining dark. Whatever happened here before, this place does seem to have taken quite a bit of damage, and is not in the best of conditions. Cierah is almost impressed that it manages to have intact systems. 

They wander into a room that is sealed off, having a door which the Minister had to use a code to enter. Within its confines, they find two drones flying around in the air, as well as a medical droid. The model is familiar to Cierah, but not imperial. Currently, it appears to be attending to someone lying on a bed. It isn’t until they get closer that she understands what this was all about.

Lying with her eyes closed, likely not conscious, is a woman that Cierah has known by many names now – Watcher Two, Keeper and Shara Jenn are the immediate ones that comes to mind. Just like the Minister, she is not in the imperial uniform that Cierah is used to seeing her in. Well…she has seen her in many different types of clothing – or with none at all – but not in the type of patient’s outfit that Shara is currently wearing. 

Seeing her like this leaves Cierah speechless and she merely stands there watching her for several seconds, forcing the Minister to interrupt the silence.  
“Do you recall what the Star Cabal did to her?” 

“How could I ever forget?”, she says, practically whispering. She can’t get much else out of her voice right now, and it’s hard for the Minister to blame her. Cierah hasn’t and won’t tell him, but she was terrified when it occurred, more scared than she would ever be for her own life. The shame of having failed Shara is still present, and it is especially drawn to the surface now, when witnessing this sight. 

He simply nods and diverts his eyes back to Shara.  
“While their damage was severe, this wasn’t entirely their fault. The…programming that the Empire implanted in her mind also caused some problems.” 

The Minister sees how Cierah’s clenches her fist and while she almost always has a small frown on her brow, it grows in severity at this time.  
“Perhaps now you see why I resent these methods.” 

She’s angry, that much is clear, but she doesn’t get particularly loud.  
“Yes, I understand why, as I always have. The programming was supposed to make her loyal at all times, but thanks to the dismantling of Imperial Intelligence, we had to have her running rogue operations.”  
He turns his gaze downwards and emotions swirl through them. Cierah wonders if guilt is the foremost of those.  
“The outcome hit her hard, and after it was all done, she could hardly stand it anymore on a physical level.”

Cierah grips her helmet harder and even grits her teeth slightly.  
“Minister…” 

He raises one of his hands.  
“I know, Cipher. I already realize what you intend to say and I do not blame you for hating me in this regard.”  
He shakes his head briefly and folds his arms.  
“Back then, I thought I had no other option than to comply with what my superiors told me. After all, even without the programming, loyalty and obedience is always instilled within us.  
I do not wish to make excuses for myself or anyone else, but if I had not accepted what was done, the situation might have gotten much worse. If she was held under a different Keeper, it is possible that she would have been forced to run further, until she expired, or worse.” 

She angrily gestures at Shara.  
“Do you see this as a bloody mercy?!”

“No, I do not. However, I did what I believed was best for her, to preserve who she was.”  
He turns to face her instead.  
“Just as I did for you.”

Cierah continues to glare at him, at least until she realizes he won’t give in and she diverts her eye back towards Shara.  
“So you claim.” 

Even though she won’t acknowledge it, he does certainly understand the resentment and knows where it’s coming from. However, they need to look forward from this point.  
“Now that it is all over, things have to change, if she is to survive.”

“Change in what way?”

He joins her in looking at Shara, with something else building up within him.  
“I intend to remove the programming from her and do the best I can to restore her mind.”

This obviously gets her attention.  
“What? Is that…even possible?”

“It is, at least according to all the estimates I have been able to perform, with the aid of a whole range of medical and technical professionals. The procedure is very dangerous, though.  
This is why I called you here.”

Cierah narrows her eye slightly.  
“Explain.” 

“I need your resources, Cipher, or at the very least information; something only you can help us find and acquire.” 

She observes him as he speaks, searching for signs of falsehoods or tricks. For now, she spots nothing.  
“I want to hear more of this…procedure. What exactly is it that you need?” 

“For the most part, we will need very specific medical resources, ones that are very expensive and difficult to attain, but that is not all. We also need to hire someone, or more, with the expertise to perform this type of operation. I certainly don’t have the skills and while I might know some, there isn’t anyone I trust enough to put Shara’s life in their hands.”

“And what do you want me to do? Steal credits for you to gain these things?”

“If necessary, yes. Or at the very least, get me information to where I might be able to locate them.  
Do you what you do best, Cipher.” 

While she isn’t entirely satisfied with his response, it’s probably the best she’ll get.  
“I suppose your proposal is reasonable, but before I agree, I want to know what happens afterwards.”

“After the procedure?” 

“Yes.” 

He seems to consider it for a few moments, before she shrugs.  
“The choice isn’t really mine. I want to allow Shara the chance to decide on her own.  
If she wants to live a life of peace and safety, then should be free to do so, and I do have enough resources of my own to at least grant her that much.  
However, if she would rather return to the Empire and continue helping them, I cannot stop her from doing this either.”  
He redirects his gaze back to Cierah.  
“The entire purpose of performing this operation, is to grant her something she has never had before – choice.”

Cierah continues to watch him and while he seems genuine, she’s still quite skeptical.  
“You don’t have a preference?”

“I do. I would prefer if she takes the first option and I will advocate for it, but I cannot decide for her.”  
He sighs again and Cierah is almost impressed that he seems to have resigned himself to the scenario that he is no longer in control.  
“I know you care for her, Cipher, just as I do. All I ask is for your help to save her.” 

There has always been an odd relationship between the Minister and Shara, something that Cierah realized very early on, especially when she spent time in private with the other woman. Shara sees him as some sort of father figure, which might not be entirely unreasonable. Perhaps he feels a similar bond for her. 

After taking a few moments to contemplate it, she knows what must be done and that she will have to follow her heart, for once.  
“Alright, you win. I agree to help you with this process. However, I must warn you.”  
She takes a step closer, giving him a stern look.  
“If you don’t do what you promised here, or if something happens to Shara, I will know and I will find you. Don’t make me regret helping you.” 

The Minister doesn’t seem particularly intimidated, but he isn’t offended by the threat either.  
“I know, Cipher. If that were to happen, I will have failed both of you and it is not a prospect that I can live with.”  
He looks as if he’s about to either offer his hand or pat her shoulder, but he hesitates for too long and instead settles for a simple nod.  
“Thank you, for agreeing to do this for her. I will make sure she knows.  
I will also make sure to call you as soon as the situation has changed. You have my word. Despite what I may recommend, I know that Shara will want to see you.” 

Seeming satisfied enough, Cierah resumes the distance between them.  
“Good. Then I suppose it is time that I take my leave. I will try to stay in touch and let you know when I have what you need. We shall speak again, Min-“  
She stops herself and gives him a thoughtful gaze.  
“Actually, what do I call you now? You are no longer the Minister, but I don’t know anything about you.” 

The question remains a difficult one for him to answer as well, and it makes him snort, almost wistfully, to consider this reality.  
“It does not matter. It is best if I remain forgotten.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, I know, this sort of meeting is supposed to happen much later, around SoR, but for my story, this was more suitable._
> 
> _The Minister of Intelligence and Keeper (Shara) are two of my favorite non-companion characters in any Swtor class story, which I know must seem kinda weird, because I haven't written much with them. This is mostly because I feel as if I can't do them as much justice as what they already are in-game, but I've been starting to loosen some of that belief as of late. It may be that I try to write some more with them at a later date._   
>  _There is of course the one-shot I have with Shara and Cierah on my profile, if you wanna read some more with them (shameless plug), but that one is a bit...melancholic, I guess? Then again, that's how you could possibly describe Cierah overall._
> 
> _Also, I will have a second part of this meeting, where Cierah talks to Shara, but it won't happen yet for a while._


	43. One step above (SW)

Since the early days on the Tempest, Jaesa and Vette has spent a lot of time together, building trust and an affection which eventually blossomed into love. For the most part, there’s almost nothing they wouldn’t do for each other – with Kira of course being included in that arrangement - and with such a mindset comes an immediate view of supporting decisions made by the other. This idea ranges across almost all activities they engage in and there are very few times where either of them has turned the other down. After all, why would they? Their thoughts almost seem shared on a level where a Force bond can be assumed, whether it’s there or not.

However, there are some limits and certainly times when either of them show some doubt. Today is one of those days, as they find themselves walking outside one of the largest settlements on Dromund Kaas, Terlo City.  
Jaesa will admit that she finds the capital world of the Empire to be quite unsettling, for a few different reasons, and while she doesn’t mind visiting from time to time, it’s not exactly a place where she and Vette go to enjoy themselves. The biggest reason for this, in her mind, is that she doesn’t want Vette to receive any scorn, which is something that is very likely to occur. Despite this wish, it wasn’t actually Jaesa who suggested they come here, but Vette herself.

Jaesa can’t remember whether they’ve actually been to this city before. She has visited a few different places with her girlfriend, but they haven’t used a lot of time around here for leisure. Why Vette would want to do so now is quite confusing to her.  
After they land with their shuttle, they take a ground-based speeder with a roof, to give them shelter from the rain, and then Vette drives them to the outskirts of the city. During this ride, Jaesa continues her train of thought.

“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going now?”

Vette looks amused and shakes her head slightly.  
“Still impatient, huh?” 

“I’m not! I just…I want some kind of clue.”

“Tsk. How would that make this more entertaining? It’s a surprise, Jae. Clues aren’t part of that deal.” 

Jaesa folds her arms and sighs, looking at her girlfriend. Vette keeps her eyes on the road, however.  
“What kind of surprise could you possibly have prepared on Dromund Kaas? You hate this world.”

“I don’t hate it! I just hate the institutions on its surface.” 

Jaesa rolls her eyes.  
“…you know what I mean.” 

Vette smirks and glances momentarily at her.  
“You’ll see.” 

Attempting another approach, Jaesa slides a bit closer on her seat, tilting her head and trying to give Vette an almost pleading gaze.  
“I just want to know what you’re getting me into. Isn’t that fair?”

“Sorry, Jae, no sweetness of yours is gonna convince me to tell.” 

Jaesa groans in mild irritation and sits back in her chair again.  
“I just want to know if you’re going to get me into a fight or something, Vette. Like, are we going to try to free some more people or is this something different?”

“Kinda exciting, isn’t it?”

“Vette! This is why I want you to give me a clue or…something!” 

Vette chuckles, having too much fun when she gets to tease Jaesa.  
“Relax. It’s not like I’d take you all the way out here just to test your combat skills in an ambush or something.”

“Not so sure if I trust that.”

“Oh, c’mon! You know I wouldn’t do that. When have I ever gotten you in deliberate danger?”

Jaesa looks out the front window and sees how they’re driving into what seems to be a region populated with many rows of houses.  
“Well, there was that time back on Nal Hutta, when we-“

“I said deliberate!”

“It was dangerous and you told me what we were going to do.”

“Yeah, but the danger in that situation was not my plan! It was just…you know, a slight miscalculation. How was I supposed to know that they had mandalorians in their security detail, instead of their usual random losers?”

Jaesa exhales and shakes her head.  
“Vette…”

“Okay, okay, I get your point. But what I’m saying is, that time, I informed you that we were getting into combat, right? We were on a mission. This is not, trust me.” 

This seems to make Jaesa relax to a certain extent.  
“Thanks. That’s all I needed to know. But, now I’m even more confused as to why you wanted to come here.” 

Vette smirks at her.  
“It’s best just to show you.”

Instead of driving past the entire housing district, Vette eventually slows down by one of them and begins to turn the speeder in that direction. This increases some of Jaesa’s surprise.  
“Wait, what are you doing? Are we stopping here?”

“That’s why I’m turning, yeah.”

“Okay uh, do you know these people?”  
She quickly turns to look at Vette, with a slight bit of panic in her eyes.  
“Hold on, you didn’t buy a house, did you? How would you even do that?”

Vette keeps her mouth shut until they’ve stopped just outside the entrance, where they can also see two more speeders and one of them appears to be an air version.  
“No, I didn’t buy it, silly. I do know the people inside, though.” 

“I see. Who are they?”

Instead of explaining further, Vette angles herself to the side and reaches out behind her seat, grabbing an umbrella and then stepping outside. Jaesa waits in the speeder until Vette comes around to the other side and helps shielding her from the rain. Just after she closes the door behind her, Vette leans over to give her a brief kiss.  
“You ask too many questions.”

“Maybe, but I just don’t like it when you’re trying to be sneaky.” 

Vette winks, takes her hand and then begins to guide her towards the door. Jaesa expects her to ring on the doorbell or something before they enter, but Vette ignores it and the door actually automatically opens once they’re right outside it, letting them get in as swiftly as possible.  
There’s obviously someone at home as well, as the lights are on in several places, with the entrance hallway being one of them. However, for now, it’s completely silent. 

After taking their outdoor clothes off, they proceed even further, until they enter a room where Jaesa notices that they’re definitely not alone anymore.  
The room is quite large, having at least two pretty big sofas in it too, with a table in the middle between them. There are a few screens and a terminal situated by some of the other walls, but other than that, they’re mostly left empty. On and around the table, there are a wide variety of refreshments prepared.

Jaesa gives all of this only a brief glance, as she focuses on the people to begin with, and she recognizes most of them. There’s Zal’riva, who is already standing in the center of the room, as well as Pierce and Quinn that stands nearby. Broonmark is a bit further away, trying to deal with something in his hands, but it’s hard to see what, as he keeps his back turned.  
“Master? What are you doing here?”

Zal smiles at her as she nods.  
“Hello, Jaesa. And Vette too. We’re waiting for you two, of course.”

“For us? Why would-“  
Before she gets much further, she notices more movement by the sofa directly to the right side of her, which surprises her even more.  
“Master Valcera? You’re here as well?”

Valcera, or as she’s better known as in the Empire, Darth Imperius, smiles at her and winks at Vette.  
“Hello there, darling. Surprised to see me?”

“Well…yes. I don’t even know why I am here, so your presence is even more shocking. Ashara, you too?”

The togruta sits up a bit straighter, shows a similar expression as her master and waves at Jaesa.  
“Hello. And yes, I was invited as well. It seemed…important.” 

“We both came for a specific reason”, Valcera explains. “But it has been a while since I last saw you. I’m glad you’re doing well, my dear.” 

Jaesa isn’t sure if she should be confused or simply enjoy the fact that so many people seem to have gathered just for her. The problem is, she still doesn’t know why. It’s not her birthday, she’s sure of that.  
“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”

Zal seems amused by her question, but glances at Vette to begin with.  
“Everything went well, I hope?”

Vette nods and instead of going to sit by the others, she remains where she is, beside Jaesa.  
“Yup, it did. She wouldn’t stop asking questions, though. Like, all the time. It’s like she believed I was leading her into a trap, or something.” 

That makes Zal laugh, while Val smirks.  
“Well, in some ways, it is.” 

“Tsk, don’t try to scare my apprentice, dammit!”, Zal exclaims.

“I’m simply stating the fact that she’ll have to face a lot of difficulties when-“

“Shh! You’ll spoil it. I’m supposed to be revealing this.” 

Val still looks amused and she raises her hands in defeat while she leans back.  
“Very well, I’ll leave it to you.” 

As most of the people present turn towards Zal, she puts her hands behind her back, and focuses on her apprentice.  
“Jaesa, by now, you have been with me quite a while, yes? I remember the first day we met very well, and what a…hectic situation that was. You have grown much since then, not just in your skill with the Force, but as a person.” 

Jaesa isn’t sure what to think, but she bows her head.  
“Thank you, master. I hoped that you would feel this way.”

“Indeed, but the training I once gave you don’t really seem…completely adequate anymore, does it?  
As of late, you have been doing more and more things on your own and showing yourself to be exceptionally proficient at it. I was especially impressed with our mission to Marr’s ship and the way you helped me expose the agent. I almost feel as if I underestimated your abilities at that point, and was not ready for the way you managed to control that situation.” 

“Well, it was…an opportunity for me, master. I’m still very appreciative that you gave me the chance.” 

“And now I feel as if I should’ve done so much sooner. And that is exactly why we have gathered here today.”  
Jaesa tilts her head curiously, trying to understand what Zal is telling her, and while some part of her mind might’ve guessed, she’s still not entirely certain. This forces Zal to continue.  
“Due to your capability, constantly growing skill and power, as well as your increasing wish to take control of your own life, I have made a decision.”

Somehow realizing that something important is about to happen, Jaesa widens her eyes slightly.  
“…master?”

Zal nods, somehow trying to tell her that she’s correct.  
“In my authority as the Emperor’s Wrath, and with a member of the Dark Council as my witness”, she says, while gesturing briefly at Val, “I hereby elevate you, Jaesa Willsaam, to the rank of a Sith Lord.  
Congratulations, dear. I sincerely hope that you will prove me right in the way you will use your newfound independence.” 

The rest of the room begins to clap their hands in an applause, while Jaesa looks absolutely stunned. She simply stares at Zal, desperately trying to find some kind of direction in this revelation, as this was not what she had expected when she came here.  
“I...I’m…a Lord? I…” she shakes her head slowly. “I don’t know what to say.”

Vette smiles and moves over to hug her tightly from the side.  
“Congrats, Jae! Or should I call you ‘Lord Willsaam’ now?”  
She winks playfully, but Jaesa still just stands there, trying to absorb it all. In the meantime, Vette turns her attention to the side of the room, watching another one of their crewmembers.  
“Broonmark! Where’s the music?”

The talz raises his hands and emits some grunting noises in frustration, obviously not satisfied with what he’s doing. It appears that he was trying to operate one of the devices in the corner, but it’s just not working out for him.  
While Vette walks over to help him out and the others calm down a bit, Jaesa approaches Zal, closing the distance between them.

“Do you…really intend to do this, master?”

Zal arches a brow quite amusedly.  
“Intend to? Jaesa, dear, I’ve already sent the necessary files to the appropriate institutions. You will be accepted into this position in a few days.”

Before she can say anything further, they hear Val speaking from the sofa.  
“Excuse me? Have _you_ really done that?”

Zal rolls her eyes.  
“Alright, alright. It was actually Quinn who did it.” 

Quinn simply offers a polite smile.  
“But it was on your request, of course, my lord.”

Val smirks.  
“Hey, don’t let her take the credit, Quinn! You have to show her that she’s not always right.” 

Ignoring their little bickering, Quinn turns his attention back to Jaesa.  
“I also extend my congratulations, lord Willsaam. No one could have been more deserving of such a promotion.” 

Pierce nods in agreement.  
“Yeah, well done, m’lord. Gonna get weird to start calling you that, but I’m sure we’ll get past it.” 

Jaesa wants to tell them that it’s fine to use her name just as always, but she has too many questions on her mind that blocks this out.  
“Master, what does this mean? For the future, that is.” 

“Well, there’s several aspects to it, of course, but the most obvious change is that you’ll be allowed to go as you please. Not that I won’t be able to call for you, if I need you, but you won’t actually be required to go with me all the time, if you prefer to be elsewhere. Being a Lord of the Sith means having some autonomy.” 

Val inclines her head.  
“Indeed, at least for now. However, this also means that we can allocate certain resources to you. Zal has already made sure that you can take this house for your own, and do whatever you want with it. With my help, obviously.  
And if you need a ship in the future, I’m certain that I can let you have a personal vessel, similar to Zal’s. Well, perhaps not the exact quality of it, but you know what I mean.” 

Another astonishing revelation for Jaesa.  
“Wait, this…this is my house?”

Zal seems pleased with her reaction.  
“It is. I realized that you and Vette mostly had to use my apartment within Kaas City, and since you were to get your own station, that didn’t seem entirely fair.  
Unfortunately, there were no available homes right now in the capital, but Val told me of this house, and that it has sat without an owner for several months. Seemed like quite an adequate home for a Sith such as yourself.” 

Jaesa is overwhelmed by everything she’s suddenly getting, and has completely forgotten about all the uncertainties she felt before they arrived. However, there are other inquiries that has her just as worried.  
“I see. Erm, I have to ask you something though, master.”

“Oh, of course. Go right ahead.”

“Are you…unhappy with me as your apprentice?” 

The bemusement on Jaesa’s expression now quickly transfers over to Zal.  
“What? Why would you ask that?”

Jaesa clears her throat and begins to fidget with her hands.  
“Well, I mean…we’ve been working together so closely and shared visions for so long. And I have loved my time on the Tempest, I still do, and…well, it just sounds like I have to go somewhere else now.” 

Due to the bond between them, Zal can also sense the fear inside her former apprentice, not just of change, but of abandonment. This brings back the protective and caring feelings within Zal and she takes the last few steps up to Jaesa, gently capturing her chin and raising it.  
“Oh, Jaesa. Don’t be silly. Would I have given you a promotion if I was somehow unhappy with you?”

She starts to feel a bit silly and sighs, diverting her eyes downwards, despite being held up somewhat.  
“…no, you wouldn’t. I know that’s silly, just…” 

And that’s all she manages to emit, which Zal doesn’t blame her for. It might be that there are a lot of other people watching, or maybe she can’t quite express what she’s feeling. Either way, Zal lowers her arms to embrace Jaesa instead.  
“This does not mean we won’t be working together anymore, dear. Quite the opposite. I’m not going to make any drastic changes to the Tempest or anything – your cabin will always be there for you, as long as I manage to use that ship.  
However, by giving you this title, it means we can also easier spread our operations and give you more opportunities. You can begin to build your own reputation, make yourself more prominent in the Empire and become a role model of your own, gaining further access. This way, you won’t just be my apprentice anymore, but a Sith that can demand respect from others and help me change people’s opinions further.” 

After she’s done, Val adds a few comments on her thoughts.  
“And it also means you’re able to tie yourself to a Sphere of Influence. As the former apprentice of the Emperor’s Wrath, many will be interested in recruiting you. I’m sure I can help you figure out what route to take, later on.” 

Jaesa offers a small smile to Val and nods.  
“Thank you, my lord. I don’t quite know what to do about that just yet, but I’m sure I could use your advice. But first…”  
She closes her eyes then and resumes the hug she and Zal shared, being able to return the gesture much better now. This appears to make Zal very happy as well.  
“Your belief in me means a lot, master. I hadn’t even considered this possibility but…yeah, it feels amazing.”

“I’m glad you feel that way. I wanted this to be special for you.”

“It is, very much so. I promise that I’ll make you proud.”

“You already have.” 

Once they separate, Jaesa isn’t left alone for long, as Val has come up to them now and wraps her own arms around the new Sith to give her another hug.  
“You will make a fine Lord, darling. Can’t wait to see the reactions of others when they hear it.” 

“Well, mostly, I hope to be a good influence upon the Empire as a whole, my lord”, Jaesa tells her.

“That’s what I meant, obviously!”

Ash is also there to give her a similar gesture, and when the music starts up, Vette returns to Jaesa’s side. Now that she’s more in control of herself, Jaesa places a hand on Vette’s cheek and pulls her into a kiss, being able to fill it with the joy and passion she was too shocked to display earlier.  
“I’m annoyed I can’t be angry with you for not telling me anymore.”

Vette tilts her head amusedly.  
“Don’t worry, you can always ‘punish’ me later, in whatever part of this house is the bedroom.” 

Jaesa gasps and feels her cheek heating up, making her place a hand over Vette’s mouth.  
“D-don’t say that kind of stuff in public!”

The two higher ranked Sith both starts to laugh while Vette wiggles her eyebrows. When she manages to pull the hand down, the twi’lek gets a little bit more serious as well.  
“If it wasn’t obvious already, I’m staying with you, wherever you intend to go. I like Zal, but I belong with you.” 

This is the kind of warm sentiment that makes Jaesa smile widely and while she may blush once more, at least it’s for a far better reason.  
They hear further people joining the discussion soon.  
“I offer my services for you as well, my lord”, Quinn says.  
“While Lord Wrath has my foremost focus, of course, it would be rude of me to not try to accommodate you as well, when we have been working together for quite some time now.” 

Pierce smirks and folds his arms.  
“Are you trying to get another promotion, Major? I thought licking the boots of one Sith was enough.” 

Quinn frowns at Pierce and folds his arms.  
“Be silent, _Captain._ You are still my subordinate.” 

“We’ll see how long that lasts.” 

Jaesa overhears their little bickering, and while she doesn’t wish to see them fight any further, there is something that interests her.  
“Major? Captain?”

“Yes, I decided to promote them both”, Zal tells her.  
“They already have tons of autonomy and both the army and the navy tends to borrow them for various tasks, but I wanted to give them the opportunity to have even more authority.”

“And that expands some of your own influence as well, my lord”, Quinn adds.

Jaesa raises a hand and strokes her chin in thought.  
“Hmm, that’s a good point. I will have to try my best and build a…’powerbase’ or whatever you call it, of my own. I still want to be tied to you though, master, but also help spread your ideals across the Empire. I have been following you for too long to simply discard all your teachings.” 

“I am sure you will succeed with these endeavors, dear.” 

Val glances between them and seems pleased with their reactions.  
“It’s very sweet to see you two like this. I’m sad I don’t get to see it more often.  
However, Jaesa, you do realize what this promotion of yours means, don’t you?”

She turns to Val, trying to read her expression, but not sure what she is implying.  
“Uh, that I…have more responsibilities?” 

“Quite so, and as a fully-fledged Sith, that also means you might have an apprentice of your own in the future.” 

Jaesa widens her eyes.  
“An…apprentice? Oh dear, I…I hadn’t even thought about that.” 

Vette starts to grin at the possibilities.  
“Ohh, that’ll be fun! Just think of all the stuff we can do!”

“…Vette, no. Don’t get any ideas! I don’t want you scaring away any apprentices of mine.”

The twi’lek chuckles.  
“What?! C’mon, I wouldn’t do that to anyone! I’m just gonna mess with them a bit.” 

Jaesa sighs and shakes her head, knowing that, whoever it’s going to be, there’ll likely be trouble.  
“It’s a bit much to think about right now anyway. It’s strange enough to consider that I won’t be master Zal’s apprentice anymore.” 

Zal smiles at her, raising a hand to gently caress her cheek and chin.  
“Well, you should get used to it. While our master-apprentice bond was important to both of us, you and I will always be something far more crucial and meaningful – friends.” 

It appears that Jaesa appreciates it and lifts her own hand to put it on top of Zal’s.  
“Yeah, you’re right, and I will always cherish it.” 

The sweetness in the room seems to increase by several times, but Val isn’t quite done discussing the future. She now turns her attention to the Wrath.  
“Just so you know, Zal, you’re not off the hook. In fact, you now have an open spot to be used for new apprentices.” 

Zal lowers her arms and groans, while rolling her eyes.  
“…are we really going to start talking about this already?”

“Not in detail, but I’m just telling you what’s going to happen.”

“I think I will need some time first, Val. I just had a very emotional experience by elevating my first apprentice!”

Val’s smug express seems to increase in intensity.  
“Sure, and I will let you revel in it, for now. But that word, ‘first’, is quite crucial here. You didn’t seriously believe we would let all that battle experience go to waste, did you? If anyone can teach new prodigies for the next generation, it’s you.”

They all hear how Vette laughs, while she leans against Jaesa.  
“Damn, that sounds like a _really_ fun plan. Tell me when you guys make the choice. I wanna be there!”

Zal begins to frown and folds her arms.  
“Is that decision not up to me? I am the Emperor’s Wrath, not the Dark Council’s pawn!”

She may have a point, but Val simply shrugs.  
“Sorry, darling, it’s already too late. I have heard that Vowrawn has started to make preparations and testing who would be the most appropriate candidate. I am sure he will have a selection for you soon enough.” 

Zal groans even louder and rubs her eyes.  
“By the Emperor, please, don’t let _him_ make decisions for me!”  
The others in the room begins to laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I think I'll expand on the Jaesa's Lordship and apprentice stuff in my Vette/Jaesa/Kira fic at some point, when I have more time in my writing schedule._   
>  _I still have a bunch of ideas just sitting in the backlog for that one too._


	44. Ignorant voice (JK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _If you've read my Lana/Valcera fic, you might recognize the intro of this week's chapter._

The lights in the vicinity of the room dims somewhat, to give a better view of the small holographic projector on the table. As this happens, a hologram appears in the middle of it, emitted in a shape that reaches no more than about a meter above the surface. The image consists of three figures, familiar to all of those in the room – Supreme Chancellor Leontyne Saresh, Grand Master Satele Shan and Supreme Commander Jace Malcom.

The voice of the Chancellor is the first one heard through the speakers on the device itself.  
“Fellow citizens of the Republic, I am glad to deliver news of success in battles above planets and important installations in the Inner and Mid Rim. Brave men and women are pushing the Empire as hard as they possibly can and holding strong against any onslaughts. Once more, we are proving to the galaxy that compassion is not a weakness, but our strength. Yet, that is not why I stand before you.  
Instead, I can finally confirm what many have suspected for months – the Sith Emperor is dead.”

The Grand Master, with her arms resting by her back and standing a few steps behind the Chancellor, takes over.  
“A Jedi strike team confronted the Emperor during a recent attack on Dromund Kaas. Now, a joint SIS and Jedi committee has concluded that the galaxy’s greatest villain is gone forever.”

Saresh nods for a moment, before she continues.  
“This does not change the fight ahead. The Dark Council remains the true political power in the Empire. But it sends a message to the Sith and their followers”, she raises a hand to point at the recording device, “we are coming for you.”

As it shuts down, the three other individuals inside the room keep their eyes on the projector for a while longer, letting thoughts linger in their minds, considering the information that has been offered to them.  
Kira has been leaning forward, her hands on the same table as the device, showing a rather stern expression.  
Slightly behind her is Ktila, hands at her hips and eyes now drifting to the roof, as she considers the implications.  
Over on the left side, close to the wall, is Scourge, with his arms folded, currently glancing between his companions. 

The silence in the room is understood by all three, as none of them are quite sure how to process this piece of information. They had clearly expected something to be said, but was this what either of them wanted?  
Ktila was involved in the strike – hell, she was the foremost attacker – and yet, no one had really asked her what would actually be said in this little presentation.

After a few moments, Kira looks over her shoulder, focusing on the chiss.  
“Well, that was certainly…interesting, huh?” 

In reaction to this, she notices how Ktila begins to frown, although not directed at the other Jedi. Shortly after, she snorts as well.  
“Yeah, ‘interesting’ is a way to describe it. I can think of a few other things to say about it.” 

Not waiting for the duo to inquire, Ktila turns around, facing the door and then immediately leaves the room. For a second or two, neither of them attempt to do anything counter it, until Scourge pushes himself away from the wall and pursues her. He stops by the doorway and calls out to her.  
“You do realize that he’s not dead yet, don’t you?” 

While she doesn’t intervene in the conversation, Kira remains where she is, at least listening to what’s being said.  
Further out in the corridor, Ktila stops in her tracks and remains in this position for a moment. She opens her mouth briefly, but as she could not think of an appropriate response immediately, nothing is emitted. It forces her to turn around and face him, letting her feel how another frown forms.  
“We don’t know that.” 

“Don’t we? Look into yourself, Ktila and tell me if you truly believe that.” 

They stare at one another for a short while, trying to challenge the other to defy this notion, until Ktila falters.  
“I can’t…” 

“You can. If you ignore this now, then you will be no better than the rest who disregard the danger of his nature.” 

There’s a severe discomfort at even the notion of performing something like this, but as she recognizes that he has a point, she does as he asks and shuts her eyes.  
It only takes a few seconds for her to feel the inevitable. There are no obvious signs, no malevolent fanfare which would somehow usher his presence into existence. All she receives is a slight sensation of unease, indescribable and unknowable, but one she cannot let go of.

“It’s…it’s still there.”

“As it always will be, until every molecule of his existence has been evaporated. You cannot reject this, Ktila. You will need it, in order to understand what we face.” 

She continues to stand like this for a bit, as if feeling the shadows weighing down on her shoulders and the eerie cold growing around her. Eventually she folds her arms, to bring in some resistance.  
“I admit that I would prefer not to believe it but, it’s just…”  
She sighs heavily.  
“It’s frustrating. We threw everything we had at him – our weapons, our will, our strengths, our blood – and it should have worked.”

“Should have, from the mindset of those who cannot quite comprehend a being like Vitiate. He is beyond simplistic values of power, which the Jedi still adhere to.” 

Ktila suddenly reopens her eyes.  
“I know what I saw, Scourge. He fell, that much was clear. I stabbed him, several times over. No one could truly have survived that.” 

Scourge exhales briefly and shakes his head.  
“You are right, no one could have, but as you should already be aware, nothing is that simple with the Emperor. He is beyond the physical.” 

Her gaze shifts around briefly, moving searchingly in order to see past her own problematic understanding.  
“Then what will be required to take him down? It’s something that I keep wondering. He can’t be invincible. No one in this galaxy is.” 

“It’s hard to tell. From my perspective, everything is at stake, and therefore, everything must be a potential sacrifice.” 

Ktila furrows her brow once more.  
“No one can live that way. You can’t be ready to discard everything you have at a moment’s notice.”

“In order to defeat him, that is the type of person you must become. Or at least find someone who could do it. As far as I know, there are few others than you who have the power to succeed.”

While it’s possible for Ktila to make sacrifices on a social, institutional and material level, she is not as certain when it comes to the physical, or even worse, emotional.  
She hesitates for now, sight being drawn to the floor as she tries to clear her mind. It doesn’t work out all too well and while she attempts to find something reasonable, her mind instead lures her to the past. 

“You know, I keep thinking about this thing you told me quite a while ago.”

“And what would that be?” 

She doesn’t walk any closer, but she makes sure to face him fully.  
“Remember when we discussed your past? You told me that you once fought together with two other Jedi - Revan and the Exile.”

He takes in what she says, but interjects before she continues.  
“Raekah and Meetra.” 

Ktila rolls her eyes.  
“Whatever!  
My point is, you told me that you all fought together against the Emperor, along with a bunch of other Jedi, but that you were not able to kill him.”

Scourge tries to see her point of bringing this up again, before he slowly nods.  
“It is true, we did not. However, the plan was never to kill him, as we did not believe we could.”

The irritation begins to grow on her expression, but it’s hard to tell why.  
“And you remember what you told me after that? You said that _I_ was supposed to kill him, that this was what you saw in your vision. What happened to all that nonsense, huh? I did just as you told me, but he’s still here!”

It’s obviously difficult for him to forget, as it wasn’t all too long ago that they discussed this particular topic. However, he hesitates somewhat in reaction to what she says.  
“I think you might be misremembering, Ktila. I…did not specifically state that I saw you kill him – merely that you would be the one to strike him down. Perhaps I should have emphasized the physical aspect of this.”

She immediately emits a groan then, and turns away slightly, raising a hand to her face to rub it. Was it all a ruse, a way to forget his own uncertainty, or has she been imagining it and building up her self-esteem on a piece of miscommunication?  
Eventually, she lifts her arms in frustration as she glares at him again.  
“Is this really all there is to it? Why the hell would you dedicate your entire life to anything but a sure thing?! Why did you sacrifice everything, if you knew it wouldn’t kill him?!”

This is a question he can tackle with more confidence as he crosses his arms again.  
“To me, it did not really matter whether I knew for sure that you could kill him or not. The vision made it clear to me that you had the potential, and this made me believe that you had the greatest chance of any creature in this galaxy.  
In the past, despite all of our efforts, we never really had an opportunity like this and I was willing to go for it, even though it had to take so much of me to succeed.”

“But he stripped you of everything that made you Sith, of everything that made you a person!”

“Not everything, but a substantial amount, yes. And if I was faced with a similar prospect, knowing what I know now, I would still make the same choice. It is not over yet, Ktila, not as long as you remain alive.”  
His eyes drift away for a moment, becoming distant.  
“I remember discussing my vision with Raekah ages ago, and she agreed with my assessment. It is why she chose that particular end for herself.” 

Ktila manages to halt herself, to not get all too angry at him. Obviously, he has gone through a lot at this point, and seen all too much be destroyed in order to get this far.  
She wonders what could’ve possibly made him make that choice, though, and to leave behind his friends. All for her, for another chance at stabbing the Emperor? And what if it doesn’t succeed? Will he simply try again?

Taking a deep breath, Ktila manages to steady herself once more.  
“Then what does this even mean for the future? How will we fight the Emperor if he’s not gone yet?” 

“As I have mentioned before, his spirit likely still exists, as it is what he truly consists of at this point, being nothing more than a lingering mass of shadows. We will have to target it, if we hope to succeed.  
Unfortunately, I have had…difficulties pinpointing his presence. In this galaxy, there are several places which can be deemed to have strong dark side auras. It’s very possible that he has ended up on any of these, in order for him to regenerate.” 

Ktila shakes her head when she considers the task ahead of them.  
“Okay, let’s say we actually do manage to find where he’s hiding. What do we do at that point? How do we kill him?”

“Yes, that is also an issue that I have yet to solve. I cannot yet know how or if we will.”

She groans and raises her hand to rub the bridge of her nose.  
“Scourge…”

“Do not complain so much, Ktila. Is it not better to have a chance, rather than none at all? Or would you prefer we all give in and let ourselves become fuel for his consumption?”

She doesn’t really enjoy the tone he uses, but she can see what he’s insinuating.  
“…no, of course not, but-” 

“Precisely, then we shall have to do everything we can with what we have. That is the reason I remain alive, and struggle. It is also why you may have to be ready to take the same risks that I have, if it is presented to you in the future.”

“And what if I’m forced to kill you to succeed? Is that something you would really be ready to give?”

“Yes, without a doubt.”

She tries to read his expression, making sure if he’s merely spouting gibberish, or if there is truly a sense of certainty and purpose. So far as what she can see right now, he remains resolute.  
“Very well. I guess I’ll think about it.” 

“Good, it is all we can ask of you right now.”  
The tension disperses to a small degree, and he considers what they saw earlier.  
“I must admit that I feel the Republic and Jedi’s statement earlier was foolish. Sending a message across the galaxy in this fashion will only spread lies and false security.”

While she can understand the decision, it’s not like she’s unaware of his point.  
“Yeah, I think you may be right. It wasn’t a great choice.”

“It certainly wasn’t, especially when they do not know anything of his current status. They were not present at our attack and cannot understand the circumstances.  
Besides, your people need to be aware of the dangers of the future, as the Emperor still lurks somewhere. Without it, you suffer the risk of being brought down from an unexpected assault.”  
He sighs briefly and shakes his head.  
“I tried to explain this to your Grand Master a while ago, but she did not really seem to listen, which made it even more obvious now.”  
He snorts.  
“Makes it amusing to consider that she dares carry the name of ‘Shan’. Almost wish we could have Grand Master Marr back.” 

He hasn’t spoken all too much of the past, or how he met with the other Jedi, only distant names and titles like this. Ktila hopes he can explain further at some point, when he doesn’t feel as guarded. With the risk of deaths surrounding him, he doesn’t show any eagerness to share.  
From the doorway, another person steps out then and Kira frowns at Scourge.

“What you’re saying wouldn’t really be fair, Scourge. People shouldn’t need to feel even more fear at this time.” 

Scourge arches a brow and turns slightly in her direction.  
“It is better to have the understanding of fear than to live in ignorance.” 

Kira snorts derisively.  
“Yeah, sure, maybe to you guys. Some Sith, like yourself, might enjoy the idea of having sensations of fear surrounding you all the time, but that’s not universal, you know. Most people don’t make the best decisions when they’re terrified for their lives.” 

“A certain amount of fear is healthy and can make you take the necessary actions to do what needs to be done.”

“Pft, and who is going to judge what’s ‘healthy’, huh? The Empire?”

Before it gets too far, Ktila raises her hands to stop them.  
“Listen, I agree with both of your points and they’re reasonable, but in the end, none of this matter, nor did the statement by the Chancellor and master Shan. We have our own thing to focus on and achieve, and that’s what we’ll do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I haven't fully explained it so far, I think, but in terms of Scourge's past, I don't quite follow canon. Instead, I use the content of my own Kotor fic, Visions of destruction. Yeah, at the time of writing, it's not yet done, but let's just say that the ending is not going to be quite like that goddamn Revan novel._
> 
> _Next week, we're gonna have some stuff with Jovana._


	45. Unforgiven debts (BH)

Not far outside the extent of imperial space, the Sith-controlled cruiser, ‘Lamented Vengeance’, is parked outside one of the recent colonies captured during the war, together with several more ships of various sizes. As it is placed not too far away from orbit, another smaller ship comes flying towards it, approaching one of its hangar bays to enter.  
When the smaller ship eventually sets down and opens its entrance hatch, two women steps out of it, both of them fairly well-armed and one of them armored quite heavily as well.

Jovana sweeps the area with her yellow eyes, seeing how the imperial personnel in this section of the ship seem pretty uninterested in her arrival and while she’s not against them ignoring her and the crew, she still wonders how much they’ve really come to accept her. She doubts many have forgotten what she did.  
Turning her eyes to the side, she focuses on her companion instead.

“Got all your files ready, Mako?”

The young slicer’s gaze is moving quickly across the display of the datapad she has in her hands, trying to check that she has everything they need.  
“Yeah, think so. I doubt they’re really gonna try anything, though.”

Jov snorts and shakes her head briefly.  
“You know what these imps are like. They’ll take any chance they can get to screw us over.” 

Mako raises her eyes for a moment and arches a questioning brow.  
“Oh, c’mon, you don’t really think that.” 

“Yes, I do. You haven’t forgotten about the Great Hunt, have you?”

“That’s not fair. All of that was a crazy event set up by mandalorians and-“

“Yeah, _my people._ ” 

Mako smiles and rolls her eyes, before she continues.  
“Yes, yes, your people. Anyway, you have to admit that it was quite a crazy time and they knew it’d be dangerous, so they had to make certain preparations.” 

While she looks skeptical, Jov does tilt her head back and forth.  
“Eh, maybe. Doesn’t mean they’ll suddenly go lenient on us, especially after what we did.”

“You mean, after what you did. I didn’t kill that guy.” 

Jov turns to look down at her and starts smirking.  
“Hey now, don’t think you can escape. You healed me up after it was done and kept your eyes on the battlefield. You’re an accomplice.” 

Mako sighs briefly.  
“Why do you have to want to ruin my reputation as much as your own?”

Moving a hand to her friend’s head, Jov ruffles her hair slightly, which makes Mako try to push it away.  
“Ruin it? Pff, just making sure my favorite lil’ slicer doesn’t try to slip away from being part of this operation.”

Mako glares for a moment, before she smirks right back.  
“Watch yourself, or I’m going to deliberately screw this negotiation up for you.”

“Nah, you won’t. Then you won’t get any credits either.”

“Maybe I’ll make sure that they forward all of it to me.” 

“Go right ahead, I don’t mind letting you be my bank.” 

Mako may complain about the expectation and perhaps state that she’d try to make this situational contract benefit her in some way, but it’s clear that both of them would see that as a lie.  
As they pass through several imperial soldiers and are then shown into a specific corridor, where the office of the leader for this ship is supposed to be, they keep silence between them for a while, trying to both mentally prepare themselves for what they must do. Combining Mako’s knowledge with Jov’s attitude and charisma, tends to win most people over in some fashion.

“Hey”, Jov practically whispers as they wander through the hallways, “have you checked who it is we’re supposed to meet, by the way?”

“You haven’t?”, Mako says skeptically.

“Well, you know…I just thought it’d be some self-important imperial.” 

Mako sighs and shakes her head.  
“You mean you expected me to gather all the intel.”

Jov looks at her amusedly.  
“Isn’t that what I pay you for?”

“Not nearly enough.  
But yes, I know who we’re going to meet – it should be some guy known as Lord Aggrata. According to my HoloNet sources, he was a rising star a couple of years ago, but it has dimmed quite substantially as of late.”

Jov gives her a few seconds to ponder it, before she pokes Mako’s shoulder.  
“Uh, that’s it?”

Mako clears her throat.  
“Well…yeah, that’s it.”

“There’s nothing else you could find about him?”

“Hey, I tried my best, okay? You didn’t give me a lot of time and a lot of stuff wasn’t really interesting. Like, awards, battles he had been at, duels he had won, blah blah…  
It could be summarized as ‘he was good once, now he’s kinda garbage’.”

Jov tilts her head backwards and chuckles.  
“You know, I was gonna tease ya for being lazy, but that was kinda funny.” 

Mako shrugs as she smiles.  
“I’m not a comedian, but I have my moments.”

“Think you can say that to his face?”

“Not a chance. I’ll just make you do it instead.” 

The laughter she emits next is louder than the last one and it’s what can be heard just as the two of them step through a set of doors that slide open for them, allowing them to enter a room ahead of the office.  
There’s a small lobby area prior to the main room, apparently made for guests to wait and to have an assistant oversee the visitors, but there’s currently no one inside. They walk past this until they enter the office itself and as they do, they’re not met by sights they had quite expected.

Flanking them from either side, are four individuals, who all have a rather intimidating aspect to them. They’re dressed in heavy red armor, accompanying helmets, with similarly colored capes and long skirts. In a way, they could be seen as a mess of blood and metal. Jov, who obviously wears an armor combining white with scarlet, arches her brow questioningly and folds her arms. While they’re certainly impressive, she doesn’t feel she has seen this kind of getup before.  
However, the short and quiet gasp from Mako gets her attention.

“What?”, she whispers.

Mako tries to stay faced forward, but her eyes can’t help themselves as they survey the ones they’re surrounded by.  
“Don’t you recognize them?”

“Not really. Should I be?”

“Yeah, they’re Dark Honor Guards. What are they doing here? They are only ever assigned to the Dark Council. This guy is just supposed to be a simple Lord.”

On the far side of the room, two people walk away from the corner they were standing in and approaches, allowing Mako and Jov to see them better and it’s clear that both are human.  
One of them, the one at the front, is a red-haired, fair-skinned male human, dressed in a set of somewhat extravagant clothes, ranging from dark violet to dark red colors. His yellow eyes are most likely not as artificial as Jov’s. Mako recognizes his appearance from images she has seen, and Jov can guess by the lightsaber at his belt.  
When he distinguishes himself there’s a faint smile on his lips.

“Ah, so you are Jovana Vlasic, the ‘famed’ Grand Champion. It was very interesting to hear how Darth Malgus had ordered you to join us once more.” 

That makes the mandalorian snort derisively and put her hands on her hips.  
“Sorry what? Don’t remember anything about him giving us any ‘orders’ at all, ‘cause we’re not imps. We do what we want.” 

His smile now grows into a smirk instead and he inclines his head briefly.  
“Yes, I have heard as much. You do have a bit of a reputation among Sith nowadays, you know.” 

She shrugs nonchalantly.  
“Guess so. Don’t really care much for what you guys gossip about.” 

Shortly after, he takes a small step to the side, revealing his companion and gesturing at her.  
“This is my highest subordinate, Admiral Dreya. She is in charge of the Lamented Vengeance and has helped me a lot as of late.”

Both of the mercenaries shift their eyes towards the person standing by his side and sees a woman in black imperial uniform. She has light brown complexion with short black hair mostly hidden by her cap, grey eyes and a bit heavier build, but not towards the muscular.  
For some reason, Jovana thinks she appears familiar, especially with the stern expression, but she can’t really be sure from where.  
The Admiral doesn’t say anything either, merely nodding curtly.

The Sith redirect his hand towards his own chest then.  
“And I am Lord Aggrata, which you should already know by now, I assume. However, I do wonder how far that knowledge extends.” 

Looking back at him, Jov displays a fairly unimpressed expression and folds her arms.  
“Not very far, to be honest, but I’m guessing you’re gonna inform us at this point.”

Aggrata chuckles briefly and displays a smile, but it has a nasty edge to it.  
“Ah yes, quite an amusing tone and attitude, just as I’ve heard from other sources”, he says, voice practically dripping in sarcasm. Soon after, he begins to pace across the floor.  
“You know, there have been a lot of rumors and discussions about how you fought Darth Tormen. I find them to be quite intriguing, but now I have the original source right here. Perhaps you could tell us more what it was like?”

Jov appears to be quite skeptical at this notion and gives Mako a quick glance, who merely shrugs in return. Perhaps it would be best not to annoy the guy who might be providing credits for them.  
“Uh, sure, I guess. I fought him mostly one on one, with occasional tactical and medical support from Mako here. The rest of my team blew through his ship at the same time.”

“And how did you actually defeat him?”

“What do you mean? I shot him a couple of times.” 

Aggrata raises a hand, forming the vague shape of a gun with his fingers.  
“Just like that? You raised your blaster and put a few holes in him? Nothing more?”

She looks quite confused, wondering why he sounds so astonished.  
“Yeah? I mean, sure, I had to fly around a bit and avoid some of his weird Force crap, but he’s just a guy, not a god.”

That elicits an amused snort from Aggrata.  
“I think most would say that Darth Tormen was a Sith of some renown and more than a regular imperial. Many spoke of his possible ascent into the Dark Council, you know.” 

Hearing this makes her smirk once more and shrug shortly after. She would want to say she doesn’t care, but the idea of his defeat manages to sound even more satisfying in this light.  
“If you think Sith are invincible to blaster shots, sorry to tell ya, but you’re just as likely to get yourself killed by a skilled merc as he was.”

He stares at her for a while longer, before offering a smile, one that reminds her more of a sneer.  
“It was quite an impressive feat to face him in single combat, even if not everyone was overly happy with the result.”

“Because I killed one of your precious Sith, huh? You’ve got lots of ‘em.”

“Sure, but that was not all. Many also questioned if what you accomplished was good. After all, your actions helped the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic more than anyone else.”

She rolls her eyes, looking uninterested by his accusation.  
“Yeah, I guess, but I never intended to. I just thought fighting a Sith was much more exciting than an old frail bureaucrat. Anything else was accidental.”

“That may be true but, it did inadvertently somewhat help the Republic, while you did work for the Empire at the time. Do you not feel any remorse for such actions?”

Jov doesn’t feel especially comfortable with the type of implications he’s aiming at her and begins to frown.  
“Excuse me? Are you trying to put the blame for his fuck ups on me? I just stopped the crap he was doing and Malgus has already discarded my past and any damage I might’ve done to the Empire.” 

This time, Aggrata offers a politer smile instead.  
“Ah, I believe there may be some miscommunication here. It is true that your past has been stripped from imperial records and I don’t personally intend to lay all this blame on you, for anything he might’ve done. After all, in a way, your actions helped me as well.”

Jov widen her eyes momentarily and shares a look with Mako.  
“Did it?”

“Indeed, it did. For you see, I used to be an apprentice of Darth Tormen in the past. His foremost, in fact, before this change.”

The gaze instead turns quite accusatory, and Mako clears her throat as she tries to get her datapad up and fidget with it.  
“Uh, r-really? That’s erm…fascinating. Must’ve missed that during my intel sweep…”, she admits.

Jov frowns, and steels herself for anything that might occur here. She glances briefly at the guards, but for now, she tries to remain outwardly calm.  
“So, you’re a product of Tormen, huh? Should’ve figured you’d be curious about that.”

He chuckles and spreads his arms as if to display some kind of friendly gesture.  
“Now now, there’s no reason to be so tense, my dear Grand Champion. After all, it was my right and position to inherit Tormen’s powerbase after his death. I’m very thankful for any actions taken against him, in that regard.”  
A second later, his smile falters somewhat.  
“Or it would have been, if it were not for the circumstances. Your actions did, after all, destroy Tormen’s most powerful and expensive ship, and a lot of the resources within.  
After that, his rivals and other apprentices immediately descended upon the remains and the rest of his possessions, in hopes of taking anything they could get. What minor scraps was thrown to me, was barely anything to feel much excitement at all for.”

Jov’s grip on her own arms tighten somewhat.  
“You’re pissed off.”

“Of course, wouldn’t you be? If it weren’t for the fact that, had you asked beforehand, I would surely have aided you in striking against him. We could’ve both benefited immensely.” 

“Sorry, man, couldn’t be helped. I didn’t even know you existed and I didn’t have much time to find out. Tormen certainly didn’t relay any info about the rest of his people.” 

Aggrata’s expression strains somewhat when she says this.  
“And you had no opportunity at all to check? You have worked with the Empire long enough to know how things operate by now.”

“Look, it wasn’t that easy, okay? I was hunted by everyone, especially the Republic, and Tormen had power over me in that regard. I had to do what he told me, or else he’d sell me out.”

His pacing has slowed somewhat, and for now, he keeps his hands behind his back.  
“I can appreciate that, miss Vlasic, but it still doesn’t take away from the fact that you took matters into your own hands, rather than reaching out in any way possible.” 

“The Chancellor gave me a ticket out of that hellhole. What was I supposed to do? Ask the Empire to help me blow some of their stuff up while I was on his ship? It’d take too long.” 

“And such recklessness can create a lot of contempt from others, which you should’ve been aware of.”

She glares at him now and despite the small smile, she feels that he’s doing much the same at this point. Their silence lasts for a few seconds, and all that can be heard during that time, is Mako swallowing somewhat audibly, before Jov continues.  
“So, what’s it gonna be then, huh? You called me here. You wanna hire me, or you wanna fight?”

He appears amused once more, and nods slowly.  
“You do seem to understand the situation quite quickly. Good to know that you’re not as much of a fool as I suspected, at least.  
However, it’s not quite as simple as what you might expect.”  
Aggrata takes a few steps closer to her position and she remains where she is.  
“I called you here to extend an offer similar to my master’s. While I certainly could find it in me to kill you and I considered such revenge before you got here, I do realize that your skills would be very valuable.  
If you bind yourself to me, and do what I say, I wouldn’t have to kill you or start my own hunt against you, should you try to escape.”

“If you think I’d shy away from a fight…”, she says and swiftly moves her hands down towards the handles of her guns, “you don’t know me very well.” 

“Hah! Mandalorians – you are all so very predictable.” 

“As are Sith. Not afraid of you, asshole.”

She sees how he raises his hand to reach out with it, and as she has faced many Sith and Jedi before, she can predict what he’ll likely do. Using her jetpack, she moves quicker than his mind does, and tries to burst away from where he’ll likely move it.  
Unfortunately, while her plan is solid, she doesn’t get very far. It appears that his plan was never to fight her alone, as the closest Dark Honor Guard has raised their tech staff and before she can get anywhere, it slams into her back and sends a shock through her body, penetrating the armor and she falls down on her knee. It’s not enough to completely topple her, but the one next to the first joins in and with two fighting her now, she can’t really do much to resist them.

Mako widens her eyes and tries to use her own weapon, while also finding someplace to be safe.  
“Jovana!”  
Unfortunately, the two guards on the opposite side has already reacted and Mako loses her breath when another tech staff hits her stomach. She slams into the wall and then falls down, being pinned to the floor.

They both hear Aggrata laughing and shortly after, Jovana feels herself rising up into the air, as he utilizes the Force to lift her. She groans as she slams into the closest wall, and shortly after, her whole body strains, as he puts an invisible grip around her throat.  
“Did you truly believe that I’d attempt to fight you by myself, after what you did to Tormen? I may have my pride to protect, but I’m not a moron.  
Your feats are impressive, and I respect your courage, but you are not a match for any Sith who thinks ahead.”

Even if she doesn’t want to, she finds herself raising a hand, trying to find something to remove and give her time to breathe, but there’s nothing for her to push at.  
“Fuck…you…”, she manages to emit, quite heavily strained.

Aggrata smirks as he comes even closer, still holding her, while not trying to put all too much pressure on her.  
“It would be very amusing to simply crush you right here, and take all the glory for myself, but I admit that I have need of you. If you have any sense, you will work for me, unless you wish to have everything around you utterly destroyed.” 

He watches her in agony, teeth gritted and hands clenched for a few seconds, before he loosens the grip enough for her to be able to at least speak somewhat and give him an answer.  
“I refuse…to be your fucking slave. I’d rather die.”

He’s unimpressed while he shakes his head and snorts again.  
“Your continued resistance is admirable, but thoroughly expected from a mandalorian. You’re so simple-minded. However, I didn’t ask you to come here without making proper preparations.”

Aggrata turns his eyes towards the Dark Honor Guards next to Mako and inclines his head. While she can’t see it, Jov certainly hears how a pained gasp is emitted from Mako, followed by several hard thuds and then, eventually, a scream.  
“Wait…w-what are you doing?”

“I know your pain resistance is quite immense and when you claim to not fear death, I believe you. But, will your dear assistant say the same thing?”  
Mako lets out another shout and then coughs in pain, being given only a few seconds between each beating.  
“It does not seem that way.”

Jov closes her eyes, finding herself in a struggle between her rage and the deeply protective feelings she has for Mako.  
“No…stop. Don’t…do this.” 

Aggrata watches her, tilting his head amusedly, and waits until they hear another cry of pain.  
“Ohh, I don’t think she’ll hold out for long this way. Perhaps I shouldn’t have asked them to put the staves on such a high volume.”  
He waits for another, before he continues.  
“You'd best make a decision fast, Grand Champion.”

Giving in to this guy really does not feel like an option at all, and she’d rather take him up on a challenge to the death. However, at the same time, can she really be selfish enough to sacrifice everything she cares for, just to satisfy a need for honor? Is that what a mandalorian would do?  
“Make them…make them stop.” 

“Mm, I might, but first I want to hear you say that you agree to my terms. Bind yourself to me, Vlasic, or find yourself losing your most precious pawn.” 

She’s far more than that, and even the implication makes Jov angry. However, she has to let the flames settle down and follow what is best for Mako.  
“F-Fine…you win.”

He smirks and pulls her closer to him, even though he’s still a few meters away.  
“What do I win? I want to hear you grovel, mandalorian.”

Jov grits her teeth, pissed off that she has to do this while just barely being able to breathe.  
“I…I will accept your terms. Whatever you say. Just…just don’t-“

Before she can continue, they hear the even and stern voice of the imperial woman further behind the Sith.  
“My lord? I have something urgent that you must see.” 

Aggrata groans in annoyance and frowns while he turns his head towards her.  
“What is it now, Admiral? Can’t you see that I’m busy?”

However, his eyes soon widen in shock, when what he sees isn’t just her appearance, but the barrel of a blaster pistol aimed at his face.  
“I believe we’ve heard enough.”

Half a second after she says it, she pulls the trigger and fires straight into his skull, penetrating it quicker than he has time to react, and his body falls backwards to the floor.  
The Dark Honor Guards would try to react to it, but Dreya has already pulled back and covers her head. They soon notice why, as a flashbang drops down right in the middle of them and they don’t have much time to counter it. After it detonates, most of them are temporarily half or fully blinded, giving her the upper hand.  
She steps forward when given the opportunity and without remorse, guns each of them down, with a couple of efficient shots each.

At the same time, Mako and Jov lies on the ground, trying to recover themselves from what they just experienced and as Jov tries to sit up, she rubs her throat to alleviate some of the pain, before she looks over at her friend, desperately crawling to her side.  
“Mako? Are you…are you alright?”

She sees red stains on the floor and more erupts when the young slicer coughs.  
“Fuck…no, but I’m alive”, she says, while panting.

As Jov tries to get a sense of what’s going on, she sees how the officer closes in on them.  
“I apologize for waiting this long to act. Getting the gun out from the hidden cabinet, without letting him notice, was not easy. Aggrata has always been frustratingly paranoid, so I had to act with caution.”

Shortly after, she sees how the Admiral kneels down next to Mako, offering some kolto to alleviate some of the pain. Jov opens her mouth, but doesn’t initially know what to say. She’s confused by the entire ordeal.  
“What…what just happened? Why did you help us?”

Dreya raises an eyebrow confusedly.  
“That’s an interesting question. Has my daughter not mentioned me?”

Jov looks around searchingly for a moment.  
“Your…daughter?”

She stands up and corrects her uniform a bit, before she offers a hand to help Jov up.  
“I am Rear Admiral Dreya Draconius, in charge of the 16th Kaas Fleet, and the Lamented Vengeance is my main ship.”

The mandalorian is stunned and stares at her for several seconds.  
“Wait, what? You’re…Cierah’s mom?”

Dreya shakes her head in a mildly amused state and walks over towards the desk.  
“Mum is the word she uses for Margetha, but yes, I am one of her mothers.  
This is the reason why you were sent here as well, as I was the one who found and gave the information to Aggrata.”

“Wait, you gave it to that scumbag?”

“Yes, because it was the only way that I could reach you without any repercussions.” 

Jov shakes her head in confusion, before she tries to help Mako up as well.  
“Uh, what? I mean, I’m thankful for what you did and glad you wanted to help us, but why didn’t you act sooner?”

Dreya sighs, holsters her weapon and crosses her arms.  
“I already told you, because I had to act with caution.  
For quite some time, after the fall of Imperial Intelligence, my wife and I have been watched. There hasn’t been much for us to counteract that, and we have not located any channels which we can use to reach Cierah.  
However, an ‘anonymous source’ gave us information about you and how you were connected to my oldest daughter.”  
She looks briefly at the body of Aggrata.  
“I looked into the matter and found this man, hearing of his wish for vengeance, with how he was humiliated in the aftermath of Tormen’s fall. I used it to gain access to you without anyone suspecting me, and it did help me get rid of the slimy bastard in the process.” 

Jov doesn’t really know what to say, stunned by the quick and efficient thinking. Suddenly, she realizes where Cierah gets it from.  
“Wow, that’s…well, we owe ya, obviously.”

“You certainly do, which is why you will take this.”

She grabs a datapad from the desk, and hands it over to the mandalorian.  
“What’s this?”

“When next you encounter my daughter, I’d appreciate it if you make sure that she gets this. It will give us an opportunity to talk, which I haven’t had for a very long time.”  
She takes a deep breath, diverting her eyes to the floor.  
“Margetha and Vivianna are both very worried. I hope this might make it better for them.”

Jov doesn’t quite know how to respond, and therefore simply takes the datapad and nods in understanding.  
Mako watches Dreya for a moment, feeling somewhat better now, mostly due to the dulled pain by the kolto.  
“What about you? Aren’t you worried?”

The Admiral watches her momentarily, and her gaze turns distant.  
“I…do miss her, yes. Some days more than others.”

“Well, obviously I’ll deliver it to her. I’m sure she’ll be glad”, Jov states.  
“But what about our current situation? What are you gonna do with the bodies?”

Dreya doesn’t seem particularly bothered as she walks around the desk.  
“They will be taken care of. Unfortunately, I will likely have to blame the proceedings on you, as well as Aggrata’s need for revenge. I don’t want any suspicion aimed at me or my family.”

Jov shakes her head, but finds it amusing regardless.  
“Well, guess that’s fair. Malgus will probably understand and I’m ready to take it.”

“I knew you would. Now, let’s get you two out of here, as quickly as possible. It’s best if you get some space, before I’ll have to ask to make arrests.”  
She helps them both towards the door and sees to it that they can both move well enough. She will, naturally, have to make it seem plausible that she was left alive.  
Before she lets the duo leave, however, she seizes Jov’s arm.  
“If you manage to do this, you will have won at least one point with your future mother-in-law.”

Jov halts, feeling her body freeze up, as she had completely forgotten this angle. She chuckles shortly after.  
“Well, guess I’ll have to hope that’s enough to convince you to let me go that far.”

“We shall see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _You don't mess with the Draconius family, Aggrata should've figured that out._   
>  _I didn't know how to best describe it without being rude, but yes, Dreya is fairly fat/overweight or...whatever word would be best to use. As you can see, I kinda don't know what to say explicitly without being stupid._
> 
> _And, as I know that this question might come up, yes, Dreya and Margetha are both cis, but they have children together, which were not adopted. I mean, technology is quite advanced here, so I assume it would be possible to get children still combined with genes from both._
> 
> _Next week, there'll be more family stuff, but involving Bery and Lenorr instead._


	46. A passion unbroken (Sm)

Leaning towards the side of her seat, Bery places her arm below the frame of the window and looks out, seeing the odd and twisted rocky landscape below. The surface of this world isn’t something that she would call all too welcoming and if she didn’t have very good reasons for coming here, there’s just no way she’d ever think about it.  
It’s not like she hasn’t been to imperial space before, obviously, even though most of the trips haven’t been hugely successful. What she hasn’t done until this day, however, is visit one of its so called ‘core worlds’. 

She has been told about Ziost a few times as well and while she wouldn’t call the description appealing, somehow, it sounded even better than what she’s seeing right now. However, it’s best not to say anything about it.  
For a moment, she looks down at her clothes, seeing the sleeveless red shirt and the long white skirt she’s wearing, as well as a set of shoes with just a slight heel at the bottom. She corrects them now, making sure that she looks appropriately casual and yet still not so much that they’re messy. 

Turning her eyes to the side, she spots the woman that managed to drag her here and who Bery has been wondering if she’s actually ready to do anything for. Lenorr is sitting in a set of dark red robes and a black coat wrapped on top of them. It covers most of the sights that Bery enjoys viewing, but that’s far from the only thing, obviously. Seeing the freckles on the Sith’s lovely face always makes her smile, but she also notices something less enjoyable – Lenorr is currently running two fingers along one of the sharp facial tendrils which pokes out from the side of the chin, something she only ever does when she’s in deep thought or nervous. 

“Babe, you okay?”

Lenorr doesn’t answer at first, her eyes distant and unreachable. She keeps fidgeting in the same manner as previously, for a few seconds, before she sighs heavily.  
“I don’t know.” 

Bery slides a bit closer on their united seat in the shuttle they’re passengers on, and moves a hand towards the Sith’s forearm.  
“What’s wrong?”

“I just…I don’t know what to think just yet.”

Knowing that this will likely be a very rough experience, Bery doesn’t want to judge her. Stroking her hand down along the strong arm of her girlfriend, she eventually entwines her fingers with the hand that isn’t fidgeting. Well, not as much, anyway.  
“Hey, it’s gonna be alright. They’re your parents. Why would they treat you any other way then how you expect them to?”

Lenorr shakes her head briefly.  
“If you say that, it makes it clear that you don’t know my parents very well.  
Besides, it’s the expectation that makes me anxious.”

Bery tilts her head curiously and arches a brow.  
“Why? Because you know they’re gonna hate me?”

For a moment, the Sith turns her eyes towards her companion and there’s guilt clearly displayed in them.  
“Bery…I don’t-“

The Captain interrupts her by chuckling briefly and sitting a bit closer, letting their sides and legs touch.  
“It’s okay. I’ve kinda been expecting it anyway, after what you’ve told me about them.” 

Lenorr can’t look straight at her. In the past, she wouldn’t have been as ready to discard her family’s views, but rather accept them as normal and unavoidable. It’s been months since everything changed though, and she can no longer accept the prevalence of such hypocrisy.  
“You shouldn’t have to.” 

Despite all the difficulties that they’ll likely have once they arrive, Bery is at least thankful that Lenorr is not at all like her parents. Or at least, not in terms of opinion.  
“Maybe we should’ve told them that we’re coming? Might’ve made it easier.”

Lenorr shakes her head in response.  
“Not really. My parents are traditional Sith and that makes them very…skeptical of anything that has to do with non-Sith. Even certain humans have to deal with their scrutiny.” 

“Wow, that’s…I don’t even know what to say.”

“Yes, I know and I agree.”

Bery snorts and furrows her brow, while turning her gaze back towards the front of shuttle. On the other side of that wall is the cockpit, where a droid is on an automated route to their destination. It appears a lot of shuttles are driven this way, except for when someone calls for an imperial to handle it specifically.  
“I’ve always wondered about that, actually.”

“About what?”

“Why is it that ‘traditional’ always means ‘asshole’, no matter how you say it?”

Despite being used to Bery’s attitude by now, Lenorr widens her eyes in surprise, before she leans her head back and laughs lightly. It helps ease some of the tension and perhaps that was the purpose.  
Shortly after, she moves her hand from the tendril and down towards Bery’s chin instead.  
“Sometimes, I remember why I’m with you.”

The Captain smirks back at her.  
“Because I’m hot and great at sex?”

“Shut up.”  
Not wanting to hear any retort, Lenorr angles herself further down and pushes their lips together, facing no opposition from Bery, who returns the gesture even more eagerly than it was started. She may not say it, but she will do everything she can for this twi’lek, if she has to fight for her honor as well.

A while later, when the shuttle eventually settles down on the ground and they exit from the door, Bery sees how they’ve arrived at a place above the standards she had expected.  
Back on Nar Shaddaa, before their mother passed away, she remembers how their family of four shared a small apartment that would barely be enough for one person. In contrast, it appears that Lenorr has been living in absolute luxury.  
The mansion they face is large, several levels tall and painted in black, red and golden colors, with white cloth draped across its roof like banners, displaying the symbols of the Sith Empire. The gardens around the place is more like a field, with space for all sorts of smaller buildings, a facility that she might call a greenhouse, one for storage and more. Bery can understand why a kid would wanna grow up here, minus the view of the dreary landscape.

However, intermingled with this, is the image of people walking around the place, most of them alien. Bery is surprised at first, not having expected to face all too many of them, especially not at the mansion itself. However, she’s soon reminded of something that Lenorr told her in the past and notices the view of slave collars on several of their throats. Not all of them, but enough for Bery to feel quite a bit of dismay. 

As they stride towards the door, one of the servants approaches, a female zabrak, who widen her eyes at Lenorr’s approach.  
“Master Lenorr? What…what are you doing here?”

She ignores the title for now, as well as Bery’s skeptical gaze, and decides to focus on the matter at hand.  
“I’ve come to meet with my parents. It’s quite urgent.”

While she doesn’t say anything, the servant certainly looks towards Bery as well, not quite sure how to address her.  
“I see. Is there anything I can help you with? Shall I escort you inside?”

Lenorr walks past her and raises her hand to decline.  
“No, I’m fine. We won’t need an introduction to face them.”

The resolve in her eyes appears to have an impact on the servant, who steps aside.  
“Very well. Good luck then, I suppose.” 

Bery continues to follow her girlfriend, keeping up with her and staying as close as possible.  
“So, a lot of slaves they’ve got here”, she says in a fairly quiet voice.

It’s just barely noticeable, but Lenorr does emit a brief sigh through her nose.  
“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, not your fault. Just making an observation, anyway. I know you’re different, gorgeous.”

For now, Lenorr doesn’t respond, but it’s hard to tell what her emotional state might be.  
She stops just before they get up to the door, taking a deep breath while Bery continues to watch her and then strides forward with a sense of purpose. Knowing that the door is unlocked, she doesn’t even need to try the doorbell, as she instead pushes a button on the side which immediately opens it automatically. 

When they enter, they find themselves in the entrance hall of a fairly large area. Bery can immediately spot at least three passages in just this part of the house, as well as a set of stairs and…when she spots the last means of travelling, she leaves her mouth hanging open and then leans closer to whisper.  
“What the fuck…  
Do you guys honestly have an elevator in here?”

Lenorr sighs slightly.  
“Yes, it’s for…well, people who need it. Either servants travelling up and down, people in hover chairs, our older relatives, and so on.” 

Bery doesn’t know how to react and simply shakes her head slowly.  
“That’s crazy.”

“It’s just an elevator, Bery.”

“Yeah, _inside your freaking house!_ Your family is loaded. Like, ridiculously.” 

Lenorr rolls her eyes, and is about to tell her that it’s not so unusual for a family of this status, but she doesn’t really manage to get very far, because she sees someone else walking into the corridor.  
A person who looks fairly similar to Lenorr, albeit with sharp tendrils as eyebrows instead of ridges, long greying dark brown hair instead of black, yellow eyes instead of orange and a few less golden ornaments, peers towards them. She stands there and just stares for a few seconds before she gasps.

“Lenorr! Is that…is that really you?”

The older woman approaches them, and Bery notices how her girlfriend takes another deep breath and then offers a curt nod.  
“Yes, mother, it is me.”

Derrashi is wearing grey and silver robes, but they are sleeveless, allowing Bery to see that she’s not even close to as physically fit as her daughter. She’s also shorter, somewhere in the middle between Lenorr and the twi’lek.  
She slowly comes closer, with confusion seeming to loom above her.

“But…but you haven’t said...”  
Her words drift away from her and she shakes her head, before offering a smile and when she stops right in front of her, she reaches out to take Lenorr’s hands.  
“It’s so good to see you, dear. I’ve been so worried.”

Lenorr’s expression softens somewhat and she accepts the touch, her grip tightening just a little bit, as she feels how her mother’s hand is shaking.  
“I’m glad to be back as well.”

“Why didn’t you tell us that you’d be coming?”

“Because…there were certain circumstances which got in the way.”

It looks as if Derrashi has questions about these circumstances, but gets distracted by the footsteps they all hear from another corridor further back, similarly to where she came from.  
The next person to enter is a man, this one with completely grey hair hanging down to his shoulders. Bery can see similarities between him and Lenorr as well, mostly in the orange eyes and the eyebrow ridges, but he also has a set of facial tendrils which reaches down around his mouth like a mustache or beard would on certain other species. His complexion is a few shades darker than the two women. To the Captain’s surprise, he’s also not a lot taller than Derrashi, nor is he particularly well-trained. 

Lagtenn appears just as astonished as his wife when he approaches.  
“Lenorr? What...when did you get here?”, he says, stumbling on his words a little bit. 

“Just now.”

“But…we had received no word of your arrival.”

“I know, I arranged for it to be this way. I preferred for it to be a…surprise, you might say.”

Derrashi smiles as she holds Lenorr’s hand tightly.  
“It certainly was! And we’re very glad to see you.”

Lagtenn appears to be delighted as well as he spreads his arms and offers the embrace for Lenorr.  
“I knew you’d come back one day. We had heard so many strange and worrying rumors, but I always knew you’d be drawn to your home. This is where you belong.” 

Not quite the welcoming Lenorr had expected. Well, she has always been close to her parents, and while their squabbles can get loud and fierce, the joy and love can be just as passionate. However, there are still things they haven’t understood.  
Despite this, however, she accepts her father’s hug and pats him slightly on the back.  
“Perhaps. I think that depends on…well, what choices you’ll make in the future.”

He arches his brow in confusion and is just about to ask when he notices the shorter woman by Lenorr’s side.  
“Wait, who’s this? What’s she doing here?”

Standing a bit taller, Lenorr puts one hand behind her back and gestures with the other towards the faintly smiling twi’lek.  
“This is Bery Eka’Shodem, Captain of the Hypertrail.” 

Derrashi and Lagtenn glances at each other, both of them seeming rather clueless.  
“Captain Bery?”, her mother asks. “I don’t think that we are familiar with that name.”

Lagtenn folds his arms.  
“You came all the way here just to introduce your new slave?”

Lenorr frowns, almost having prepared it for this specific purpose and she feels her hands clenching.  
“She’s not a slave.”

He rolls his eyes.  
“Fine, servant then.” 

Bery clears her throat awkwardly and diverts her gaze to the floor. She’s not usually quiet but, for whatever reason, she gets the feeling that this isn’t a good place for her attitude. Not if they’re going to end up reaching the accord that Lenorr wants.  
“She’s not my slave, servant, lackey or any similar term. Bery is my girlfriend.” 

Whether they had anticipated the initial warm welcome or not, what had certainly been far less unexpected was the expression that they’re now displaying. Both mouths hang open, eyes staring between the two as if they’ve just heard one of the worst insults in their entire lives.  
Internally, Lenorr begins to count down, waiting for the inevitable outbreak.

“Excuse me?!”, she hears her father yelling. “Girlfriend?!”

“Lenorr, dear…you shouldn’t say such things”, her mother says, much more careful.  
“Some people might get the wrong idea.”

“Heh, right”, Bery mumbles. “Wouldn’t want that.”

Lenorr takes a small step forward, standing in a noticeably protective stance, just in case.  
“Then let me make it fully clear – Bery and I are together, and I mean that in a very romantic and sexual way.”

Her father is stunned, but there’s something gradually growing inside of him. Derrashi, in the meantime, tries to approach this a little bit more rationally.  
“But…but you can’t be serious. This isn’t...”, she gestures between the two of them. “What you’re telling us isn’t a healthy prospect.”

“Not healthy?”, Lenorr retorts, both skeptically and angrily.  
“What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just saying that the two of you are very different, Lenorr.”

“Yes, so what? Do we really have to be the same? You and father aren’t the same people either.”

“No, that is very true but…it’s not quite the same, is it? It’s very clear that the two of you are from different origins.”

Lenorr exhales in frustration and rolls her eyes.  
“Just say it, mother – you don’t want me to be with anyone but a Sith. It’s what you’re all bloody thinking.”

Derrashi is clearly not quite as riled up, not yet anyway, but that’s when Lagtenn suddenly explodes.  
“Have you lost your mind?!”

With her frown deepening, she faces her father and does her best to resist the rage that seems to pour out of him.  
“No, father, I’m perfectly sane.”

“Well, it doesn’t bloody sound like it! You come home, without even giving us a fair warning first and then you lay this shocking news right in front of us?! You should be ashamed of yourself!”

“Ashamed?!”, she retorts, voice increasing in volume as well.  
“For what, being who I am?”

“This isn’t who you are, dammit! You are Sith, Lenorr, not some bloody alien!”

“How the hell does that matter, father?! Am I not allowed to be with who I care about?”

He takes a step closer to her as well, the glare between them increasing.  
“You know very well how it matters, young lady! There are certain rules, standards and expectations from being an Evintok and you’re definitely breaking one here!”

“And who cares?! You think that we’ve always been the same? Our species once intermingled with humans. How is this different?”

“That was not just different, but millennia ago, long before our Empire! You can’t bring this up as a justification for this foolish decision!”

“I can!”, she yells back her arms now hanging from her side and arms clenched.  
“And I’m not going to let you stop me! Bery is smart, pleasant, somewhat sophisticated and a damn good pilot!”

“A pilot, you say?”  
He turns to glare at Bery.  
“She said you were a Captain, but you’re not an _imperial_ Captain, are you?”

Bery is briefly taken aback, not having expected to be addressed at this time.  
“Uh, no sir, I’m not. I’m erm, a freelance Captain.”

His gaze intensifies as he frowns even further.  
“Freelance?”

“Yeah, you know uh, I trade with lots of people. The imps, the reps, the hutts…all over the galaxy, really.”

Derrashi turns her gaze downwards, while Lagtenn seems appalled and turns back to Lenorr.  
“A smuggler? You’re associating with criminals now?!”

“She’s…she’s not a criminal, father!”, Lenorr responds, but not with quite as much conviction.

Bery clears her throat.  
“Uh, well, you know…kinda.”

Lenorr turns to briefly stare at her girlfriend.  
“Not helping!”

The Captain raises her hands defensively.  
“…sorry!”

Lagtenn doesn’t allow himself to be pushed out of the conversation though and raises his hand to point accusingly at his daughter.  
“What is this supposed to mean, Lenorr? You disappear from your Sphere and the Empire, all these rumors circling around the HoloNet about you and now you come here to tell us that you’re in love with a criminal?  
Is our daughter a traitor to the Empire now?”

She takes a slight step back and shakes her head, but doesn’t let it entirely deter her. If she is to have any chance here, she can’t let herself be overwhelmed.  
“I don’t know how you can even suggest that, father! How am I a traitor by being with her?”

“You’ve left the Empire, Lenorr! How can you not be a traitor? How can deserting and leaving your home behind not be seen as treacherous?”

“I have not left everything behind! Just because I choose to go elsewhere doesn’t mean that I love my country any less.”

“If you truly loved the Empire, you would not find yourself in bed with this…this mongrel! How can you not be drowning in shame at this point?”

Hearing the term, the fire immediately returns to her and she steps closer, grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulls him closer. While he’s surprised, Lagtenn doesn’t stop glaring at her.  
“Don’t you _dare_ call her such things. Bery is one of the best people I’ve ever known and if you insult her, I will not be responsible for my actions.”

Derrashi reaches out, placing a hand on her daughter’s arm.  
“Lenorr, please! Calm yourself.”

Lagtenn faces her eyes, searching them for signs of the truth, but doesn’t find anything he hopes for.  
“I…I am your father, Lenorr!”

Holding onto him for a while, she soon finds the implication disturbing. She grimaces and pushes him backwards in disgust.  
“Yes, but you’re not fucking acting like it!” 

While he stumbles, Derrashi reacts to help her husband, and catches him before he falls. Lagtenn is still filled with fury, but also slightly surprised by Lenorr’s reaction.  
Derrashi tries to find herself in the middle ground somewhere.  
“This is our home, and while I understand that you’re both angry, let us not fight here and now! This is not how we deal with this situation.”

“There is no damn _situation!"_ , Lenorr calls out towards her.  
“I’m simply telling you what is happening and what you will both have to accept. I don’t care whether you dislike it or not, because that’s the heart of the matter.”

“Yes, but you can’t-“

 _“I can!_ You may try to find the logic in this scenario, or whatever the fuck you want to see it as, but you’re just as bad as him, mother!  
I am simply following my passions and principles here, just as you two brought me up to do. If you can’t deal with that, it’s _your_ problem, not mine.” 

Lagtenn corrects his shirt slightly, perhaps feeling at least a little bit undignified, and he clears his throat. For now, he has lowered his tone as well, to a more reasonable level.  
“This may be true, but we are your parents, Lenorr and by doing this now, and making this choice, you are diminishing our honor and the one of your family. Is that what you aimed to do this entire time?”

Lenorr looks away for a moment, shaking her head and feeling how her frustration won’t abate. They won’t understand, at least not from what she’s hearing right now and it makes her angry, almost more so than Bery ever managed to achieve.  
“Of course I wasn’t trying to do that, but this has nothing to do with other’s impressions of us. This isn’t even about you, but me and my life.”

He raises his hand to point at her again.  
“What you do in your life affects all of us, just as it does for the rest of your siblings! Everything is about family here, because that is the way of the Sith! You haven’t forgotten everything by now, have you?”

Derrashi nods.  
“He is right, Lenorr and you know that. While we don’t want to infringe on your freedoms, the decisions you make will always have consequences. It’s what you were born into. You can’t deny that.”

“Or you can”, Lagtenn says, “but only if you don’t care what happens to us at all. If you truly want us to face the fallout of your own chaos, then you will have to live with-“

 _“Enough!”_  
Lenorr calls out, yelling louder than she did previously. The volume is definitely at the point which prevents either of them from saying anything in return.  
“Enough of this! I didn’t come here for your approval. If that is what you believe, then you’re deluding yourselves.  
All I came here to do is to explain that Bery and I have decided to be together. You may not like it, but if that is the case, I can inform you that there’s nothing, _NOTHING,_ you can do about that! If your reputation is all you care about, more than anything regarding your children, then I hope you live with your own damn guilt and burn in the fucking void.”

The fierceness of her tone and words is enough to silence both of her parents. They clearly hadn’t expected for her to be so very determined and sure of her choices. Behind the Sith, Bery can also be heard whistling briefly, both impressed and smug about what she just heard.  
Lenorr isn’t sure if she should simply walk away now or not, but that’s when they hear a sound behind her parents, as someone clears his throat.

“I would like to…say something, if you don’t mind.”

The entire group turns to face a slightly younger man, who looks a little bit awkward.  
“Sevatan?”, their mother asks gently.  
“What is it?”

Lagtenn looks confident to see one of his sons and nods at him.  
“Ah, come here, Sevatan! Help us make your sister see reason.”

Sevatan, who now seems to have completely shaved his hair compared to last time they saw him, sounds tired as he exhales.  
“Father, I know you may want me to but, I have no such intentions.”

“What?”

“In fact, I have met this woman before. I believe I may have mentioned it at some point.” 

Derrashi looks around searchingly and then crosses her arms.  
“Wait, is this the ‘new acquaintance’ you talked about? You didn’t say anything regarding who she was.”

He inclines his head, acknowledging his mistake.  
“Yes, I know that and perhaps I should have mentioned their relationship too, but I thought I’d leave that to Lenorr. Personally, I have nothing against it.”

Lagtenn turns sharply to his son.  
“What?! How can you say that?”

“Because I’ve heard more than enough of her to make me feel as if she isn’t as bad as you may believe.  
Sure, she may be a smuggler, but she’s a very reasonable person and I respect her. These two might not need my support, but they certainly have it.”

Not having expected aid from anywhere else, Lenorr can’t help but smile at her little brother and Sevatan nods at her, showing that he always has his sister’s back.  
“And there you have it”, Lenorr says. “You keep believing that you’re always right and how everyone will agree with you, but nothing is that clear-cut. People change, as do we, and you’ll have to decide if you want to simply continue along the same path, while the rest of us gradually grow past you.”  
She sees how they turn to look at her, and she stares at them for a bit longer, giving each a few seconds, before she sighs and turns away.  
“This was all I wanted to tell you. If you have anything else you wish to relay in return, you can send a mail in the future and maybe I’ll read it.”  
She gives her girlfriend a look as well and nudges her head in the direction of the door.  
“Come, let’s leave. We’re done here.”

Bery watches her for a moment, briefly glancing at the two Sith standing further away, before she seems to agree and follows Lenorr.  
“You got it.”

Neither of them get very far, however. They manage to walk no more than a few meters, when Lagtenn’s voice calls out.  
“Wait!”, he says hesitantly and Lenorr stops in her tracks. She doesn’t do much else though, simply wanting to hear what he has to say.  
“Don’t…don’t leave just yet.”

She snorts and glances over her shoulder.  
“And why should we consider staying? We’re obviously not welcome here.”

Her parents seem to peer at each other, hoping that there’s something that either of them can say to not completely destroy everything.  
Lagtenn takes a deep breath and wanders a few steps closer.  
“How…how far do you aim to go?”

“Regarding what?”

“Well, between the two of you.  
Let us say that you were given the chance to…marry this Captain of yours. Would you take that opportunity?”

Not quite the question she had wanted directed at her and when she looks to Bery, the twi’lek isn’t quite as certain either. Sure, they’ve joked about it in private and in front of their friends, but saying it here makes it sound a whole lot more…real. However, instead of the anticipated impact, Lenorr senses even more excitement build up from within.  
“Yes, I would.”

Bery widens her eyes.  
“…what?!”

Derrashi raises a hand to fidget with one of her own facial tendrils, still standing not too far away from her husband.  
“Are you entirely sure, Lenorr?”

The taller Sith smiles as she raises a hand up to the twi’lek’s cheek, caressing it gently. Seeing the view, feeling the touch and the warmth from her girlfriend brings a similar expression to Bery’s face as well.  
“I am. There are few people in my life who have done what she has for me. She doesn’t just make me feel loved and fill me with passion, but she has also made me question myself and everything I believe in, challenge the truths I thought were my entire life. I am immensely grateful for it.” 

Bery snorts and looks down, feeling a heat over her cheeks.  
“Tsk. Charmer.”

“Always for you.” 

While it’s a sweet gesture that even makes Sevatan smile somewhat, her parents still linger in doubt. They face each other and try to determine what it is they want out of this, now that they’re having to deal with something so very far from their hopes.  
“I…I don’t know what to say”, Derrashi admits.

Lagtenn exhales heavily.  
“I admit that I’m similarly lost for words.” 

Despite having been silent during most of the conversation, Bery decides that now may be a pretty decent opportunity to speak up.  
“Uh, hey. I know I probably shouldn’t get involved, but…” 

As she seems to hesitate, Lenorr puts a hand to her back and pushes her forward a tiny bit.  
“That’s not true. This is my family and you are my girlfriend. If you have something to say, they should listen.”

“Well erm, I do, yeah.”  
She turns to address them and breathes out, hoping that some of her anxiety will disperse.  
“Look, I know that I’m not the best person in the galaxy. Like, that much is a given. In fact, I’m pretty lousy in a lot of regards and even if Lenorr don’t wanna admit it, I am a criminal. You know, in some people’s eyes!”

“Bery…”

She raises her hand now, a bit more confident, to interrupt Lenorr.  
“I’m not done!  
Like I was saying, I know I’m probably not what you were hoping for, as I’m not a hot pureblood like the rest of ya, but I do know that Lenorr cares a lot about you guys. She loves her family so very much and she has mentioned you on several occasions, praising you to the stars and I always found that really intriguing. I wanted to know more about you, meet you sometime and perhaps, against all odds, get to know you.  
Even though you might not like me, I can tell you that I honestly care immensely for my entire crew, especially Lenorr. I have never loved anyone as much as I care for her, and this is why I’m ready to do everything I possibly can for her. I want to make her happy and let her know that I will be there. If that means going into places like the Empire, which probably wants me dead, then I’ll do it. And that’s why I came here too, even though I knew you’d hate me, but I’m fine with that, because it’s what she wanted.”

Her honest and open attitude does make them falter and while it’s certainly not as clear as them immediately accepting her, it does make them think. Perhaps they may have been somewhat hasty in dismissing her and Lenorr’s wishes after all.  
“Can you stay for a while?”, Lagtenn asks.

Lenorr walks forward and catches Bery’s hand in her own, while she looks at her parents.  
“I don’t know, should we?”

“I hope so, because I believe we can see your point of view now. If you agree to it, I think that we would be ready to sit down and have a chat.”

Derrashi nods in agreement.  
“It would certainly be better to do this a lot more civilized, and let everyone have a say.”

Lenorr feels herself smiling and turns to Bery.  
“I believe we can. Right?”

“Hah, sure, let’s do it”, Bery exclaims.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _So, yeah, not quite like either of them wanted it go but, Lenorr's parents are kind of difficult to deal with. I hope I depicted them in the way I wanted to._  
>  Derrashi is supposed to be the more calm and "rational" of the two, while Lagtenn, as you may have noticed, gets ridiculously emotional and loud very quickly.  
>  _I'm gonna have a followup chapter next time, with a bit less shouting, but it won't necessarily be one where they all get along either. You'll see._
> 
> _I do honestly love writing these two, though. A while back, I'd say that Ktila and Zal were my favorites to write together (and they're definitely up there), but Bery and Lenorr are just so much fun. I've also got some interesting plans with them in the future._


	47. Wary tendencies (Sm)

The Empire is a place that Bery didn’t used to consider more than on a superficial level in the past. When she was young, roaming the streets of Nar Shaddaa, she obviously heard about the Sith and their war against the Republic and Jedi, but she didn’t think of it all too differently from the Republic. They both seemed like distant powers, fighting their own battles over territory, credits or presumed justice. At least, that’s what she assumed, as she was never really very interested in politics or what happened outside the space where she lived. 

As years went by, and she became more knowledgeable of her surroundings, her opinions shifted. While she doesn’t have all too much love for the Republic, the Empire became something that she actively despised. She saw the pictures and holovids of slaves, the destruction on various planets caused by this faction, read about the oppression from a whole range of articles and felt how keenly they wanted to control everything, even in the neutral sectors where she lived. She would never have considered even getting close to any of them, other than to rob them blind.

It wasn’t until she met up with and fell for Lenorr that she properly changed opinions again, albeit not entirely. She still hates the institutions that control the Empire, the role of the Emperor and the cultural impacts that Sith teachings has had on the people, but she learned specifically not to hate the people themselves. There are a lot of bad ones, that’s for sure, but it doesn’t mean that everyone feels the same way, nor that all of them are despicable. Should’ve been obvious, perhaps, but all of what she had seen and heard had an impact on her opinions and feelings. 

However, after now having observed the interior and exterior of the Evintok house, there’s a difficulty for her in regard to dealing with certain personal relationships of those closely around her.  
The slaves being held in captivity under her girlfriend’s parents’ rule is not something she can ever accept, but at the same time, she doesn’t want to entirely shun the people who are important to Lenorr, at least not while her girlfriend wants to keep their relations intact.

The conversation she and Lenorr had with Derrashi and Lagtenn was much calmer and carefully constructed than the initial shouting had been, but didn’t necessarily end much better.  
As Lenorr tried to get her parents to accept Bery, the Captain herself also wanted to bring up a discussion of the slaves, even if it wasn’t the best opportunity for it. She’s not really one to usually get into topics of rights and justice but, this was just one of those times when she couldn’t shut up. Whether that had consequences for the end result or not, is difficult to tell.

For now, they have had to recognize that the two women will be staying together and there’s just nothing her parents can really do about it. Despite this, they won’t be giving their blessing, not yet anyway, which was an aspect Lenorr definitely felt was disappointing. She may not have believed it would happen, but she wanted things to change, to allow them to embrace her for who she is and not who they want her to be.

In the meantime, Bery didn’t really care much for it. Lenorr’s feelings are important, but ultimately, if these people don’t want to see themselves in a new kind of world, then she might not want anything to do with them.  
As Sevatan and Lenorr managed to convince their parents to allow their daughter and Bery to stick around for a day or two, the Captain went on a little journey to explore the rest of the house. Part of it did mean to that she had to encounter these people who she feels deserves better, but she also managed to discover things that made her smile.

A little while later, as Lenorr and Sevatan wander around, they eventually locate her inside Lenorr’s old quarters, which has been remade into a guestroom. They had figured that Bery might be doing something foolish, which might get her caught, but it appears she’s far more innocent than that.  
Currently, she’s sitting on a chair, legs crossed and clicking on a datapad.

“Ah, there you are”, Lenorr exclaims. “I was worried.” 

Bery raises a slightly amused brow as she looks up in her partner’s direction.  
“What? Why would you be worried for lil’ me?”

Lenorr sighs as she walks inside, her little brother following her from behind.  
“How could I not be worried? I know what you can do, Bery.”

“What do you mean? I’m the cutest, most innocent twi’lek you’ve ever met. I would never do anything to cause chaos and destruction!”

The taller woman folds her arms and rolls her eyes, seeing what kind of mood Bery is in, especially with that smug smile on her face.  
Sevatan decides to intervene then as well.  
“Captain, I…I have to apologize, I think.”

Bery calms down for a moment and glances in his direction.  
“Oh? For what?”

“For the debate with our parents. I’m sorry that it did not turn out quite like either of you had hoped.”

He hears how she snorts and then shrugs, before leaning back in her chair.  
“Meh, I’m not that bothered. It’s not like I had any specific expectations anyway. In fact, I was pretty sure they’d throw us out as soon as they saw me.  
I mean, sure, it would’ve been nice if they actually listened to us, but we both knew this was never gonna be that easy.” 

The other two listens, but while Sevatan understands, Lenorr doesn’t quite feel the same.  
“I don’t know. You may be right at some level, but I can’t be this lenient to them.”

“Yeah, but you knew how it would end, right?”

“Yes…yes, I suppose I did, but I’m tired of their attitudes and how stuck they are in their ways. We’ve been fighting about my life and my decisions for ages, but it’s time they accept that I will not just do everything they say. It’s either that, or they’ll lose me entirely.”

Sevatan looks towards her in thought.  
“If you knew what to expect, then why come at all?”

“Because I had to. I wanted to know what the situation was like now, when I hadn’t seen them for months. Even so, after hearing what they had to say, I was not about to simply stay quiet.”

That makes her brother chuckle slightly.  
“Yes, I don’t suppose you ever have.”

Lenorr frowns, turning her gaze downwards and shakes her head.  
“I couldn’t just stand by and listen to the torrent of unbelievable hatred that he threw at my girlfriend. It was disturbing, but in some ways, it opened my eyes as well.”

Bery smirks to herself, enjoying the notion of hearing how fierce her companion is but, at the same time, she doesn’t want Lenorr to get all too worked up.  
“Well, I mean, I get that but, you know I’ve faced much worse from other assholes before, right?” 

This softens Lenorr’s expression somewhat and she looks in Bery’s direction.  
“I suppose that’s true, but this is my father we’re talking about, not some fool that I don’t care for. I’ve always respected him, as one should with one’s parents, but I cannot allow him to address someone I love in that fashion.” 

For a moment, the two of them regard one another with tender emotions, which the Captain obviously enjoys. However, she can’t stay serious all too long.  
“You know, it’s really cute how protective you always are”, she says, with an added wink.

Lenorr looks away and raises a hand to rub at the bridge of her nose, while sighing.  
“Shut up.” 

Sevatan watches the two of them for a while, waiting for an opportunity to get a few words in and takes it now when it’s presented.  
“Lenorr, have you made any or continued any contact with the rest of our siblings?”

She turns her attention to him and shakes her head.  
“No, I haven’t. Not yet.”  
An uncertainty soon comes over her.  
“I’m…unsure how Aurosh would see it. At times, I feel he takes after our parents a bit too much. Possibly because he’s expected to.” 

Her younger brother doesn’t have much to protest with and shrugs.  
“He is the oldest.”

“I know that Nidesa may certainly be more open-minded and I would like to speak with her of this but, I have heard she’s getting closer to becoming an apprentice. I don’t wish to ruin her career in the Empire, out of selfish reasons. It may just be best to wait.” 

“Perhaps you’re right, but sooner or later, you will have to talk to them, you know. Unless you wish to ignore them entirely, that is.” 

They see how Lenorr, while keeping her arms crossed, rubs her hands along them as well, fidgeting somewhat.  
“I’m aware of that and I will. The problem is that our parents are the first people we need to focus on, and this is a matter of getting them to accept this situation before I go too far in either direction.  
If they don’t, well…there may be a complete disaster on our hands with the rest of the family either way.” 

“Mm, that’s true. It’s unfortunate, but it’s not something we can rush, I suppose.” 

Lenorr hesitates with her thoughts momentarily, while biting her lip.  
“It’s just that…they talk so much of a sullied reputation and how destructive my choices may be, but if they would simply stand up for their beliefs, rather than toeing the line, this would be different. They cannot resist a downfall, if they don’t believe in what is being done. They won’t have the conviction for it.” 

Sevatan nods briefly and takes a step closer, placing his hand on her shoulder.  
“Either way, I’m on your side, Lenorr and I’m ready to provide aid, should you need it.” 

She looks into her brother’s eyes for a moment, before granting him a faint smile.  
“Thank you, brother. I appreciate it, I truly do.” 

“Ya know, sibling love is kinda adorable as well. I don’t get to experience it much from an observer’s side”, Bery says with a somewhat humorous tone.

At the same time, Lenorr doesn’t quite appreciate what’s being said and she scrutinizes her girlfriend. She sees how Bery is currently focused on the display of the datapad she’s holding.  
“Stop that. Also, what are you doing?”

As Lenorr comes closer, Bery glances up.  
“Just checking some stuff.”

“What stuff?”

The Captain shows a mysterious smile and shrugs.  
“Eh, nothing special.”

Lenorr watches her for a few more moments, and then frowns suspiciously.  
“Give it to me.” 

“What? No, I’m still looking at it. You can have it later.” 

When Lenorr comes closer, Bery immediately tries to hold it further and further away, while turning around.  
“It wasn’t a request. Give the datapad to me, Bery.”

“Nope!”, she exclaims, while she continues, not letting Lenorr see it.  
This goes on for a while, as Bery stands up and tries to get around the furniture, constantly twisting her arm around as to keep it out of reach. She starts to laugh, despite how difficult it is.  
“Hey, c’mon, you can’t do this! I’m trying to watch what’s on this!”

“Well, then let me see it as well, and you’ll get it back.”

“No, you’re gonna take it away!”

“Not unless you make me.” 

Bery smirks and attempts to escape the room, which gets Lenorr sighing. She could use the Force here, but she usually feels uncomfortable about doing such things to her girlfriend, unless absolutely necessary, or if they can utilize it for something fun in private. Here, it would be inappropriate.  
Thankfully, she manages to seize the twi’lek by the arm and pulls her back. Bery struggles, but Lenorr eventually slips her arms around the smaller woman’s body and easily lifts her up.

“Struggling won’t help you, so I’m not sure why you continue to do this.”

Bery can’t help but laugh once more, and once she’s completely caught, she decides there’s no use in making this worse. While she gives in, she leans closer to Lenorr’s chest.  
“Yeah but, it’s more fun that way.”

“You’re hopeless”, Lenorr says, with a sigh.  
A moment after that, her eyes turn towards the datapad and notices the images on the display. This makes her surprised at first, with a growing irritation.  
“Wait a minute, are you…are you watching pictures of me?!”

Bery holds the datapad still, a smirk growing rather quickly across her lips.  
“Ohh, is that who this cute kid was, huh? She did look familiar somehow.” 

Lenorr isn’t sure how to react at first, and falters with her words.  
“P…put those away, dammit!” 

“Why?”

“Because…because they’re embarrassing, obviously!”

The Captain chuckles for a moment, but doesn’t do what she’s told. She’s having way too much fun with it.  
“Oh c’mon, what’s so wrong with that? It’s just this really cute Sith kid, that’s all. And you know what? I think she might’ve grown up and become a really hot lady later on. Pretty good chances of that, right?”

Glancing towards Lenorr, she can see how the Sith herself is highly unamused, practically glaring at Bery.  
“Hand them over, Bery.” 

The twi’lek can see how Lenorr pushes one of her hands forward a bit, allowing it to be free so that she could technically still take the datapad. Unfortunately, Bery rests at the rest of the arm, so she can’t take it too far.  
“Nah, you’ll have to wait. I’m not done going through this album.”

“Bery! Seriously, you have to stop this!”

“How come? Are there even more interesting stuff later on?” 

As they mess around with each other, while Lenorr is unsure whether she should try to toss Bery somewhere and rip the datapad from her, Sevatan approaches them with a smile on his lips. He tilts his head to see what type of images she’s watching right now, and recognizes them rather swiftly.  
“Ah, I remember when some of those were taken.”

The fight stops for a moment and Bery, still resting in the arms of her girlfriend, turns in his direction.  
“Oh? Could you tell me something about ‘em?”

Lenorr sighs heavily.  
“Sevatan, please…” 

It appears he finds it very amusing as well, and ignores his sister’s pleas for now.  
“The one you’ve got selected now is with me, Aurosh and Lenorr, when we went hiking in the Ivyarot mountains on Dromund Kaas together.”

“Just the three of you?”

“Aye. Aurosh was old enough to be considered an adult, and Nidesa was a bit too young to get into that kind of danger without hurting herself, so the three of us believed we could handle it on our own.”

“And could you?”

He smiles, glancing at Lenorr for a moment.  
“We could, although our dear sister had to restrain some of our urges.” 

She shakes her head briefly.  
“It’s difficult to consider that he’s the eldest sometimes. He likes taking risks way too much.” 

Bery glances between them, finding an interest in hearing about the family some more. She has already done some of that, of course, but not a lot of specific stories like this.  
She runs her hand over the screen to change to another image.  
“What about this one?”

Compared to the trio being gathered in wilderness on the previous picture, this one appears to be indoors, possibly even this house, with all of the family. It really seems like Lenorr is the tallest of them, but not by much. She also doesn’t look a lot older from the last picture.  
“Ah, that would be Lenorr’s 15th birthday, which we celebrated with all of us and most of our relatives. Numbers aren’t always critical but, it was one of the few times when a lot of people could come, due to holidays and people taking vacations to gather and enjoy ourselves.” 

With another smile, Bery flicks the screen to a third image, where she can see Lenorr standing in the gardens of her home, albeit alone. She’s dressed in some more ceremonial red and black robes, and once more, appears a bit older.  
“And here?”

Sevatan gains a rather wistful smile then.  
“That would be a picture of a very satisfying day, when Lenorr came home for the first time after becoming an apprentice. We didn’t see her much after this but, it was an important event. I remember how mother and father were very proud and supportive.”

Lenorr snorts briefly, her brow furrowing somewhat.  
“Only because I lived up to their expectations.” 

In contrast, Sevatan hesitates somewhat, not fully wanting to agree or oppose it.  
“Perhaps, but I’m sure they may have been glad to see their daughter succeed as well.”

“Well, dunno about all that but, I like the descriptions. They’re interesting”, Bery admits.

Lenorr, however, regards her girlfriend with suspicion again.  
“Only because you can use them as fodder to make fun of me later.”

Bery gasps, exaggerating the notion a little bit while she does and puts the other hand to her chest.  
“What? Me?! Oh c’mon, I would never do that to you!”

“Pff, don’t even pretend to deny it. I know you all too well.”

This makes Bery smirk a bit instead and she shrugs.  
“Yeah, okay, a little bit maybe, but it’s not all about having fun. I wanna know more of your family and relationships. It’s good to see it from another perspective.”  
Lenorr can’t entirely argue with this viewpoint and keeps silent, having stopped trying to prevent Bery from seeing more. The Captain eventually finds one last image she wants to ask about.  
“Hmm…so, this can’t have been all too long ago, as you look pretty similar to what you do now. Well, except the hair, obviously. Who’s this old guy next to you?”

Instead of mentioning it herself, she lets Sevatan take over.  
“Ah, that is Darth Vowrawn, head of Production and Logistics. “

Bery seems to realize something and turns her attention to Lenorr.  
“Ohh, right, that’s your old boss, isn’t it?”

Lenorr inclines her head slightly.  
“Yes, although he was more than that. Vowrawn has been a friend of our family since before I was born, and has always supported us. When given the chance, he was quick to invite me to his Sphere.”

“Yeah, I think you’ve mentioned him a couple of times.”  
She watches the image for a few seconds, unsure how she feels about someone in the Dark Council, but for now, she doesn’t wish to focus on it.  
“Hmm…you’re really tall, huh?”

Lenorr blinks, uncertain what she means and sees how her height goes above even Vowrawn, which she already knew.  
“Well, not ridiculously so but, I suppose I’m taller than average, yes. But you knew this already.” 

“Yeah but, I didn’t know that no one in your family could really compare. I mean, only Aurosh seems able to keep up. Why is that? You got better genes or what?”

“Eh, well, I’m not sure ‘better’ is the correct term to use but, our parents believe that Aurosh and I may have received some from our paternal grandmother. She’s gone now, but she was very tall, more so than us. It seems those genes might have skipped a generation.”

“Heh, yeah, guess you’re right.”  
Bery runs one of her fingers across the image of her girlfriend, and can’t help but observe even more aspects.  
“You know, in all of these pics, you’re so…grim. Not a single smile.”

Lenorr rolls her eyes, feeling that Bery is starting to become somewhat heavy when the Sith has to stand in such a static manner.  
“There’s a very simple explanation for that – I don’t like being in photos.” 

Bery blinks and looks in her direction.  
“What? Not at all?”

“No. They make me…uncomfortable.”

“Hah, okay. How come?”

“I…I don’t know. I feel they’re so unflattering and false. It’s like a moment in time, caught and preserved forever, but not necessarily in a good way. To avoid displaying too much, I prefer something simple and direct. That way, future generations won’t have to make as many assumptions about me.” 

Not quite the answer she had expected, but Lenorr seems to misunderstand people in some way, if this is what she believes.  
“Right, if you say so.  
But hey, maybe we should take another picture right now.”

Lenorr is somewhat taken aback and hesitates.  
“What? Why would you-  
…wait, I’m not even going to ask. No, we’re not taking a picture together.”

“C’mon! It’ll be fun.”

“No, it won’t.”

“Why not? I’ll be in it and I’m great, so it’ll be fine.”

Lenorr groans in frustration and moves to drop Bery off on the bed.  
“Because it’s bad. Taking photos are horrible and awkward. I don’t like it.” 

As Bery is put down on the bed, she shifts into a sideways position and rests one of her hands under her chin.  
“Then how come you didn’t mind posing for a few photos in private a while ago? Seemed like you quite enjoyed that.” 

Lenorr gasps, feeling how warmth washes over her face, and momentarily glances at Sevatan.  
“…Bery! D-don’t talk about that, dammit!”

“What? You looked pretty hot in those too, with the white pan-“

She doesn’t say much else as Lenorr immediately shoves a hand over Bery’s mouth, refusing to let any more be heard.  
Despite that he doesn’t get to hear it all, Sevatan can imagine what they’re referencing. Instead of being appalled however, he chuckles.  
“You know, you’re quite amusing together, more so than I expected.  
In the past, I might not have liked the idea but, I can clearly see how wrong I was now. You’re a good person, Captain, and I can see why my sister would want to be with you. I’m glad you found each other.” 

Seeing how things calm down, Lenorr lets Bery push her hand away gently, but the twi’lek lets it linger within her own grasp, entwining their fingers.  
“Well, she’s pretty good to me too so, I’m not complaining.” 

“Take care of her for us in the future, will you?”

Bery grins and nods sharply.  
“Oh, you bet I will. She’s kind of a disaster anyway, so she’ll need me.”

Lenorr turns to frown at her companion.  
“Excuse me?! Is that coming from you?!”

“Mm, you can pretend you don’t need me, babe, but you know you’d never be the same awesome Sith without me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I'll probably get back to Lenorr's parents at another point in future stories._
> 
> _Some Reezah next week._


	48. Collision apart (Tr)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Elara is in this chapter but, the focus is on Reezah and Saresh here._

The airspace around many parts of Coruscant, especially the top layers, are often filled with speeders, flying to various destinations for all kinds of reasons, driven by different kinds of people. Some might be getting to their jobs, schools, back to their homes or maybe to a port that will either take them up and out of this system, or to another section of the planet.  
On this day, one of those speeders, a very particular vessel, is heading towards perhaps one of the most important facilities on this world – the Senate building. It’s certainly not the only speeder going in that direction, nor is it the only one heading to an important meeting, but at this very time, it is possibly the only speeder carrying people who are going to meet with the Supreme Chancellor, even if she’s not aware of it just yet.

The tension in the vehicle is high and there is a silence permeating the interior. On one of the seats at the front, Elara sits in a white and blue uniform, with the Republic logo somewhere close to her chest. It’s not one of the most ceremonial outfits she has, but it’s at least official. From time to time, she glances to the side at another woman in a similar outfit, but this one being light blue and grey. It has the same logo, but with a few marks of higher rank.  
Reezah sits behind the wheel, and while they might usually sit and chat on these occasions, right now, the togruta remains silent with a deep frown on her brow. Elara wishes to say something to ease this strained situation, but it’s hard to know what would appease her. 

“Dear, you have to try to calm down. All this tension won’t be good for you.”

Reezah doesn’t look at her, instead keeping her eyes on the air in front of them, seeing how the Senate building is now in sight. Her hand instinctively grips the wheels connected to the controls a bit harder.  
“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I need to stay focused.” 

“Staying focused doesn’t mean you have to strain yourself until you burst, does it?” 

For a moment, Reezah shuts her eyes and bites at her lower lip, not wanting to get annoyed at a person who doesn’t deserve it.  
“Saresh is making a huge mistake, Elara and I need to let her know. I can’t relax, because she has to understand how serious this is.” 

Elara raises a hand to gently place it on the closest of Reezah’s arms.  
“And I don’t wish to stop you from doing that, but I also worry for your health, dear. You get very intense whenever this kind of thing happens.”

“It’s important. They need to see that.”

“I’m sure they can do that without you trying to tear them or yourself apart. Besides, are you certain that yelling at the Chancellor will really do any good?”

Reezah just shakes her head, somewhat trying to dismiss the complaints.  
“I’m not gonna send her a letter to reconsider, Elara. She’s not gonna care.” 

“We haven’t tried, so we won’t know.”

“By saying that, you make it clear that you don’t understand.” 

Elara sighs, doing her best not to argue about this. She knows what the real target is, although getting in between might cause some collateral.  
“It’s not as if I’m entirely oblivious. I know what it’s like to-“ 

Suddenly, Reezah snaps her head around to Elara, eyes filled with anger and she raises her voice sharply.  
“No, Elara, you don’t! You have no fucking idea what it’s like!”

Elara twitches without meaning to, leaning back in her chair and her hand slips away from the arm. If she had any further words, they’re immediately lost. Screaming at one another is something they almost never do, except for in extreme occasions, such as on the battlefield. In private, it’s something they both frown upon, knowing that neither of them wants to fight, nor have they felt the need to. Debate and argue, sure, but not a shouting contest. 

It takes a few seconds of Reezah staring out the window again, until her hold on the wheel loosens.  
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Elara sits silently for a few seconds and then clears her throat.  
“It’s alright. I know you’re worked up right now. I won’t get in between.” 

Reezah’s shoulders slump and she glances over at her girlfriend, uncertainty displayed in her eyes.  
“I won’t do it again.” 

Elara offers a faint smile to her, but it doesn’t have enough effort behind it. At this time, they should perhaps go back, allowing Reezah to show that she really is sorry, but that biting sensation at the back of her mind tells her that she can’t just leave this be. This is more important than either of them, and a lot of lives are at stake.  
Eventually, they land on one of the platforms on the building’s side, meant for senators, special guests or people of high authority. Reezah is usually someone in between the two latter. As she strides forward towards the building, some of the anger returns. 

“Just…please don’t hurt anyone”, she hears Elara saying behind her, following her towards the same location.

“I can’t promise anything.” 

Along the way, they wander past all types of people – guards, senators, administrators, assistants – but Reezah ignores them all, not having time for any of them right now, not even to say hi to some of those who recognize her. With the expression she has on her face, most are too discouraged to even try.  
Eventually, they wander up to the correct level, where there’s far fewer people working and ends their stride by a door leading to an important office. A few Senate guards are outside and raises their arms.

“Halt. This is the office of the Supreme Chancellor and she’s busy right now.” 

She stops and frowns at them.  
“I’m Major Hiktesh of Havoc Squad. I need to talk to her.”

Her name and rank does give them pause as they immediately realize that they’re standing in front of someone who many have already proclaimed a Republic hero. Unfortunately, even heroes have to follow rules and schedules.  
“I’m sorry, Major, but the Supreme Chancellor cannot see you right now. She’s busy.” 

Reezah snorts and shakes her head.  
“Too busy to meet with one of her top spec ops squad leaders?”

“Yes, I’m sorry to say that she can’t see you at this time. You’ll have to return tomorrow at the earliest.” 

The man in front of her is about her height and size, but wears a helmet which covers most of his appearance. She takes a step closer to him, glares directly into his visor and points at the door.  
“Listen, I’m going in there and I’m going to talk to her. You’re free to stand in my way if you wish, but I wouldn’t recommend it.” 

Elara sighs worriedly and folds her arms.  
“Reezah…” 

The voice would sound even and unconcerned to most, but to the Major, it’s a sound of protest from Elara, which says more than an entire sentence would. It doesn’t indicate that she’ll get in Reezah’s way, but she definitely doesn’t approve of this.  
The guards don’t seem intimidated either.  
“We understand you may have something important to say, Major, and we respect you, but we have our orders and it forbids anyone from entering at this time. Please, don’t make this worse than it already is.” 

Reezah clenches her fist then, continuing to stare sharply into his helmet, making him doubt what she’s truly capable of. They grip the holsters of their guns, not being entirely sure if that will help them but, they will get violent if she does.  
Fortunately, they’re all in luck, as the door to the office suddenly opens up and a familiar figure reveals herself.  
“What’s going on here?”

The Major has met Saresh a few times by now, but most of their conversations have been had over holoprojectors and even at most of those occasions, the twi’lek is usually dressed in her own type of uniform, the one she wears at Senate meetings and which still remains the most familiar image of her.  
At this time, it appears she’s getting ready for something else, because she’s dressed up, but not for anything they would assume to be work-related. She wears a long light brown coat, with a dark red and golden lined suit beneath. The quality appears to be quite high, but it’s the headband, with a slightly more intricate metal piece, that gets their attention more than the clothes. 

Saresh arches an eyebrow curiously  
“Major? What are you doing here?”

Reezah glares at the guard she was speaking to one last time, before focusing on the Chancellor. She gives the twi’lek a quick survey, before she begins.  
“I have something urgent I wish to speak with you about, sir. I tried to get in, but it appears you were…busy.” 

The last word is said skeptically, but Saresh doesn’t try to scrutinize it.  
“It is true, I am getting ready to leave but, if you have an important topic to discuss, I suppose I can make some time. It’s not all too long, is it?”

“I don’t think so.”

Saresh nudges her head inside.  
“Fine, then come in.”

As she and Elara enter, they see a zabrak man walking past them, Saresh’s assistant, who offers them a brief smile before he leaves.  
It’s Elara who closes the doors behind them, and Reezah is silent until they’ve all sat down around a table on the side.  
The Supreme Chancellor’s office is pretty big, although not much more so than any other senator’s. It has a couple of large windows to give a good view of Coruscant and a few chairs to gather potential guests by, but, for the most part, this office isn’t specifically meant to receive any people, as it’s a workspace. They know Saresh has to handle a lot of holocalls from people all over the galaxy every day, she has to send tons of mails, connect with networks regarding a wide range of political fields and oversee the Senate’s overall operations. They know she works hard, even if Reezah doesn’t always agree with the result. Today is one of those days.

Saresh barely even manages to open her mouth before Reezah heads straight to the matter at hand.  
“Did you give the order to retreat from the Ferjany colony?”

The war has spread quite far and wide at this point and many planets have had to suffer under the Empire’s onslaught. Havoc has seen a lot of it, having been sent to some of the most crucial worlds or ones in most dire need of their expertise. Ferjany was one of the latest and by saying this, Saresh seems to understand what’s going on. She folds her arms and sighs briefly.  
“Yes, unfortunately, I did.” 

She notices very clearly how Reezah’s frown gets even more intense, but does her best not to strain too much.  
“Why? Why did you do this?” 

“There was nothing else I could do, Major. While it was an unfortunate action I had to take, other planets are suffering at this time; larger and more vital places, both financially and strategically. Our troops are needed more on those worlds.”

Elara looks a bit unsure, sitting next to her girlfriend in front of Saresh, but focuses on Reezah.  
“Major, please, try to remain calm”, she says quietly.

Doesn’t seem like Reezah is about to listen now either.  
“So, you’re abandoning the people on that colony. You’re just gonna leave them to die.” 

Saresh appears somewhat confused, furrowing her brow in surprise.  
“That’s an odd and rather unfair accusation. Saying that I’m ‘abandoning’ them is a simplification of the situation, don’t you think?”

“Looks like it isn’t to me.” 

The twi’lek sighs and folds her arms.  
“I’m not abandoning them, nor do I want to do anything along those lines, but unfortunately, we can’t save everyone right now. This is a war on a galactic scale, not one planetary fight. You have to see the bigger picture here, Major.  
Would you prefer that we sacrifice a lot of people elsewhere for the sake of one colony? That’s the type of difficulties we’re dealing with right now.” 

Reezah shakes her head as if she can’t believe what she’s hearing.  
“What, you’re saying this is a fucking binary choice? Now who’s simplifying?  
You know as well as I do that the places you’re talking about are larger and richer worlds, like Corellia, who doesn’t really need our help. The situation won’t change over there, just because we take the only soldiers that this colony has. It’s a waste of resources.  
And do you know who would have use for those troops? The colonies and the smaller rim worlds! The places that the imps are practically raiding right now. All they can survive on is our support and by doing this, you’re ignoring them, making them vulnerable.”

Saresh keeps her gaze at Reezah in silence for a couple of seconds, seeing her point, but feeling that there’s likely other emotions involved.  
“In some ways, you are correct, Major. I will admit that they do need our help and without those troops, it will be difficult for them to resist. However, we’re not ignoring everyone, no matter what it feels like. If we were, then I’d already have forgotten them, but I haven’t. Instead, I’m focusing on what the Republic as a whole need right now.”

“And what, you’re saying that the Republic has more necessity for dead troops on core worlds, as well as big industrial and trade planets, rather than saving the people who suffer much worse elsewhere?”

“That’s not what I said and you know it! Saving those worlds is important too, I agree with you, but what we need to focus on is making the right and tactical choices. If we can’t even save planets that are crucial for the survival of our society, then how will sacrificing troops on colonial worlds matter? They will be doomed in the end anyway.”

Reezah rises from her seat, trying to quell the offended sensations in her heart, ones who wishes to spit at the Chancellor. That wouldn’t really help her, though.  
“But it’s a waste to put the troops there, Chancellor! Are you saying we can’t even spare a few, some troops that can at least try help the colonies defend themselves or prepare a resistance?” 

Saresh has to turn her gaze upwards now, seeing as how Reezah is already pretty tall when they both stand up. If it’s a tactic to help intimidate or convince the Chancellor, it doesn’t help.  
“You say it’s a waste, but do you truly believe that these soldiers would make any difference in the colonies? If we leave too few of them, they’ll simply become victims as well, because we’d abandon them with too few defenses. Do you wish to be the one to tell their families that we made this choice, to hopefully give those worlds a small chance?” 

“They’ll die as heroes of the Republic at least!”

Elara has been watching the conversation, and while both of them gesture wildly with their hands and show their expression filled with outrage, she also notices how their lekkus join in on the action. Reezah’s especially appears to wrap around her shoulders when she gets too strained, while Saresh’s twitches when she raises her voice too much. It would be fascinating but, right now, it only makes the Captain more uncomfortable that her CO and girlfriend is arguing with the leader of the free galaxy, and loudly at that. 

“I know soldiers may want to make such rash decisions, Major, but I can’t do that, and neither can my Generals! We need to think of the good of the Republic and its people at large, not just honor and glory.”

“This isn’t about either of those things, it’s about the lives of its citizens, dammit!”

Saresh rises now as well and puts her hands up, hoping to at least slow down the onslaught.  
“Yes, I know that, but you have to listen! We’re not abandoning anyone – not Ferjany, not any other colony or rim world. Eventually, when we have our more strategically important locations secured, we will turn our attention back to those worlds and drive the Empire out, but for now, that will have to wait.  
We can’t concentrate on what happens across the street when our house is burning.” 

Reezah glares into her eyes, her fists clenched just as before, but doesn’t do anything further. Some part of her may admire how Saresh at least seems to care and stand up for herself, but the Major believes it’s currently misguided.  
“It’s not just about what happens in front of our eyes, sir. People will die now if we simply leave them to the Empire. This will create a lot of orphans, losing hope and trust in the Republic. Morale, trust and unity should be just as important as any financial and military advantages, especially in the long run.” 

While they haven’t really discussed many of Reezah’s ideals and thoughts on the Republic as a whole, she’s getting a lot of answers about them at this point.  
Saresh exhales, knowing she can’t exactly dismiss this, nor can she overestimate them either.  
“You may have a point, Major and I respect that you value the lives of the Republic, but in war, we can’t rely on good sentiments in order to survive. I’m not going to change my decision on this.” 

Reezah hadn’t really expected she would succeed with anything like that either, but she had hoped to open her mind to the possibilities. The Major folds her arms and snorts.  
“Fine, do as you wish. Then I have a request to make instead – I want Havoc to be sent back to Ferjany as soon as possible.” 

Saresh closes her eyes, feeling how a headache is coming on now.  
“What? You can’t be serious.” 

“I’m very serious, sir. If you wish to abandon that colony, then you’re free to do that - you’re the Chancellor - but not all of us will lose hope. Send Havoc into that colony and we will build up a resistance on our own and take care of the mess you don’t want to get involved in.” 

When her gaze reopens, she takes a step forward and points at Reezah’s chest.  
“Listen to me, you know that I can’t send in one of our most valued spec ops teams into a situation like that! It’s foolish and suicidal!”

“So? We’re just one team and we can take care of ourselves.” 

Saresh rolls her eyes. They’ve not had it easy during any of their conversations so far, but she hadn’t expected that a soldier would be the type of person she’d argue with the most, nor as fiercely.  
“You’re not just one team, and you know that! Havoc squad is a symbol of Republic strength, of what we can achieve without following the Empire’s path. Plus, what your small group of soldiers can achieve together is what many battalions haven’t been able to compare with. I can’t waste you either, just as I can’t waste those ships and divisions.”

“Then you admit that you think saving the colonies is a waste?”

“At this time, yes! That doesn’t mean I don’t value the people, but trying to save them rather than worlds that could help bring us more resources, equipment and weapons is not a good strategical move! You’re a soldier, for crying out loud, you should know better!”

Reezah starts to pace around her location, keeping her glare aimed at Saresh, but not being able to stand still.  
“Sounds to me like you’re abandoning Ferjany, just like the Republic abandoned Balmorra in the past.” 

The sudden turn of events seems to stun Saresh into silence for a brief time, and her eyes shift around searchingly, trying to understand this new angle.  
“Balmorra? What does that have to do with anything?”

One who does understand, however, is Elara, who joins them in a standing position and gets closer to them.  
“Reezah, please, this isn’t the time.”

“It certainly fucking is”, Reezah says, but doesn’t turn to address the human.  
“We’ve abandoned colonies before, and Balmorra was one of the major ones. What happened on that world in the aftermath, huh?”

Saresh spreads her arms defensively, as well as in confusion.  
“Major, that’s an even more deluded accusation. I wasn’t in this position at that point. I wasn’t even a politician of note back then!”

She stops and points at the twi’lek.  
“It doesn’t matter, because you’re making the same fucking mistakes that they did back then! How are we going to improve, if we can’t learn from what we’ve done wrong before?”

The shifting narratives makes it difficult for Saresh to pinpoint the exact reason for Reezah’s outrage. She realizes it has to do with caring for the people, but what’s behind that?  
“Look, I understand that you were at Ferjany, and that you may feel responsible for people that you have interacted with, but you have to detach yourself from such thoughts. It won’t help the Republic citizens at large, if you get too emotionally attached to one place.” 

Reezah closes the distance even further, standing so close that their faces almost meet.  
“If there’s more deaths on Ferjany from now on, _you_ will be responsible for each of them, Chancellor. Hope your conscience can take that.” 

That makes Saresh frown, and she clearly stepped over some kind of dangerous border now.  
“Alright, that’s enough! You’re out of line, Major and I don’t want to hear any more of it!”

“If telling the truth is ‘out of line’, then sure, call it whatever you want.” 

Saresh meets her hard gaze, that intimidating notion with her own impenetrable wall.  
“You’re going to get out of my office now, Major, but let me make one thing very clear.”  
She puts her hand up and pokes a finger directly at the togruta’s chest.  
“If you do the wrong thing and try to act on your own, I’m not going to simply let this be. You’re a Republic soldier and that duty is more than just fighting whatever battle you want to at the time. Step out of line for real and there _will_ be repercussions. Do you understand?”

There’s no immediate response for Reezah as she simply stares directly into Saresh’s eyes, hoping that this look will be enough for them to see where they’re standing.  
Elara decides to intervene instead and puts a hand on both of their arms.  
“Please, stop this now. Reezah, we didn’t come here to fight, did we? We’re all on the same side.” 

The togruta in the meantime shakes her head.  
“Don’t worry, I understand completely.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”, Saresh asks, but there’s no time to respond.

Suddenly, the door opens up and further back, another shorter togruta, with a brighter red complexion, pokes her head inside and tilts it curiously.  
“Uh, hello? Am I interrupting something, or…?”

Suddenly, some of the tension evaporates, and all of them looks around to view the newcomer, who seems to have gotten inside out of nowhere. To the two soldiers, it looks especially weird, as this togruta is a bit more suggestively dressed. She’s wearing tall knee-high boots, a white top with a low neckline and black pants that sit rather tightly on her legs. 

The woman blinks and then smiles as she recognizes them.  
“Oh, hey, if it isn’t the Major. Figured we’d run into each other again.”

Saresh sighs.  
“Kea…”

Elara glances between them, before she focuses on other togruta.  
“Wait, I recognize you. Did we not meet in another location like this a few months ago?”

She smirks and plants her head on her hips.  
“Yup, we did. I’m Kearen.”

“I see. Are you…an acquaintance of the Chancellor?”

Kearen chuckles.  
“Oh, I’m _many_ things to our dear Chancellor, some that might not be very decent to mention around these parts.  
You could say that I do some stuff for her that no one else can.” 

Saresh suddenly begins to stare at her, very intently.  
“Kea.” This time, her tone is more threatening than tired.

“Hah, looks like she didn’t enjoy that one! Better watch out, she might bite.” 

Reezah feels how all of the steam she had built up has dispersed now and she shakes her head, while turning to walk towards the door.  
“Well, don’t worry, we were just leaving.” 

Elara follows her, somewhat uncertain, but before they get outside, Saresh calls out.  
“Major! I hope you remember what I-“

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ve said my piece and now it’s done. I’ll follow your lead, as an obedient little soldier should. I hope you’re ready for the consequences of that.” 

This is all they hear, as Reezah soon walks past Kearen, with Elara coming right after her.  
Once they get out of earshot, the Captain catches up and tries to get close enough so that she can speak in a fairly quiet volume without being overheard.  
“Are you alright?”

She moves her hand in an attempt to entwine their fingers. Thankfully, Reezah accepts it.  
“No, I’m not. But I’ll deal with it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, it was mostly just Saresh and Reezah arguing, but it's part of what I wanted to show here; how a crack starts to build between the two of them. Saresh wasn't necessarily wrong in her decision, it was mostly Reezah getting emotional about a situation that was familiar - she was born on Balmorra._   
>  _Don't worry about her and Elara, though. We'll get back to those two in a later chapter._
> 
> _Oh yeah, and that togruta they met last time that they went to speak with Saresh? This is the same one. Think I mentioned it last time but, she's not my character, as she belongs to[@disgruntledape](https://disgruntledape.tumblr.com/)._
> 
> _Anyway, Iron'zeranz appears in the next one._


	49. Gateway to shadows (JC)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Qyzen Fess is in this a little bit more than previously, although he's not the character I focus on. In the past, I've tried to change Qyzen's speech pattern a little bit, to be more articulate, sort of. In this one, I try to follow the one shown in-game and hope it feels more...authentic, I guess._   
>  _Some part of me believes that Bioware Austin simply wrote trandoshans like Qyzen this way to be "primitive", which I don't really like (especially after seeing Bossk in the Clone Wars and how he spoke fluent Basic without any problem), but I might also be misjudging their language so, I'm trying my best to follow what we've seen of him so far._

The light corvette ship, ‘Wings of Serenity’, has been seen a lot around various planets, where the current ongoing conflict is drawn to, usually in order to help Republic troops. However, the crew within has more tasks than fighting imperials on the frontlines, especially after certain disasters in the not-too-distant past.  
As Iron’zeranz and Qyzen enters the main holoprojector room of this vessel, this is the kind of thought which lingers on their minds, as it has done for quite some time.

The trandoshan turns to her and folds his arms.  
“This really best choice, Herald? SIS different from Jedi, not same way of thinking. Maybe won’t listen.”

“We cannot be sure of that”, Iron says, as she begins to push in the correct frequency, one that she was given during the last encounter. The buttons on the display has been altered enough for her to be able to run her fingers over them to identify the correct keys.

“Hmm, perhaps true, but many things not certain. If asked, I say this not be useful, lead to nothing. We have hunt already, should focus on that.” 

Iron turns to her companion, resting a hand at the side of the projector.  
“In some cases, I would have agreed with you, but this is no normal hunt. You saw what occurred last time we encountered this group and we need the SIS, just as much as they need us.” 

Qyzen looks at her with his healthy eye, doubt displayed in it, but he merely offers her a nod.  
“I disagree, but not my choice. If you think this best, then I follow your path. Always show you know best for us as group, Herald.”

“Thank you, my friend.”  
Shortly after, she pushes the last button, making the call and several seconds go by, until a familiar individual appears above it. The hologram shows a male human, newly shaved it seems, with a somewhat pointy hairstyle, several visible cybernetics around his face, while wearing a high collar jacket and some fairly tight and neat pants.  
“Greetings, agent Shan.” 

Theron widens his eyes in mild surprise and places his hands at his hips.  
“Barsen’thor? Not who I expected to speak with this morning. It’s been a little while, hasn’t it?”

Iron inclines her head.  
“It certainly has. How are you doing? You took quite a beating back on Ved Kathras.”

Theron arches a brow and then snorts amusedly.  
“Not gonna sugarcoat it, huh? Just went straight for it.”

Iron hesitates for a moment, and while her expression remains the same, she ponders what was said and realizes what aspects he might find disagreeable.  
“Ah, I apologize if it sounded too blunt. I meant no offense.”

He chuckles, raising a hand briefly.  
“None taken. Guess I just suddenly remembered your dossier.  
Anyway, my injuries weren’t as bad as they may have seemed at the time and the kolto fixed me right up.”

“I’m glad to hear that and I am sure the others will be as well. Nadia was particularly worried for you and agent Decraine.”

“Tell her he recovered too. Got a little bit too proud over some of his scars, but that’s another issue.  
And what about you? You took the brunt of that blast at the end. Some of us weren’t even sure if you’d be able to get back up.” 

Obviously, she remembers the unfortunate outcome towards the end and how she may not have made the smartest of decisions. Some of the scars from that day still linger, but for now, she simply shakes her head.  
“The kolto worked as intended for me as well, as did the short vacation I was asked to take. It was a rare occasion, perhaps, but an enjoyable one.”

He smiles back at her.  
“Good to hear. After all the stuff you’ve done for the Jedi and Republic, you deserved at least a little bit of that. Hope you saw some nice beaches or something.” 

“Not quite, but it was relaxing nevertheless.”

“Alright, whatever works for you.  
So, what can I do for you today?”

Iron feels herself getting somewhat more serious but, to Theron, it’s difficult to see any major change in her expression.  
“The reason for my call has to do with the same topic as our last mission together.  
I was wondering, has the SIS continued to hunt for the copies of the superweapon documents?”

“We have, yeah. Unfortunately, we can’t really say that much progress has been made so far. The results are lacking and the leads are empty. Our target is one sneaky bastard. Or targets, as we’re not really sure yet.” 

“I see. It sounds as if you are having difficulties.”

He sighs and shrugs, lifting his arms to cross them over his chest.  
“Well, part of the reason for that is because our job so far is kinda torn. At the same time as we want to get ahold of the documents, we also have to hunt after the Empire and anything they do. Makes it a whole lot more difficult.” 

“I can imagine, and this is why I decided to call you. I was wondering if there was some way that I might be able to aid you.”

Theron raises his eyebrow somewhat curiously, but also skeptically.  
“Uh, okay? Think you’re gonna have to elaborate a little bit.” 

“My intentions are as obvious as what they should suggest. Is there not some way to implement me into your search process?”

“Our search process? How far are we talking here?”

“Well, would it not be possible for me to gain access to certain internal files, contact networks and the search patterns you use? It could help me understand more of what it is that you do and through this knowledge, I could be an asset to you.” 

For a few moments, Theron simply stands there, stunned by such a direct and almost naïve suggestion.  
“Wait, you want to…get ahold of SIS secrets? Uh, that sounds a bit drastic, doesn’t it? You’re not an agent or any kind of representative for us.” 

“That is true, but I will need all of it if I am to understand everything that you do, and help in the mission to find the culprit.”

Reading emotions is something she is quite good at through the Force, even if this is a hologram, but Qyzen doesn’t need anything like that in order to understand how Theron might not like this idea, based on his expression.  
“Look, I…appreciate that you’re willing to pitch in, but what you’re asking here is unlikely to happen. I could still go and make the request, but I have a pretty strong feeling that the Director would turn me down.” 

Iron senses how disappointment begins to form within her, but she holds it back for now. It’s better to be understanding than impatient.  
“Why is that? Surely, I would be a valuable addition to your search.”

Theron tries to observe her for a few seconds, get a feel for her, but as with a lot of Jedi Masters, that can be quite difficult.  
“First, I’d like you to answer one of my questions. Why are you so interested in this? You haven’t tried to get directly involved with SIS previously, not unless you were going through the Order. Has your view changed somehow or is this about something else?”

She shifts the location of her hands, moving them behind her and inhales quietly before she responds.  
“In a way, I suppose it has changed. The issue with the documents is one that I feel is important, but I do not believe that results can really be attained through official Republic channels.  
While I have not interacted much with SIS in the past, I know that you are the group most suited to track this enemy, and rather than waiting for you to find anything, I believe it is preferable to be part of the system.  
Besides, you don’t have any Jedi among your operatives at this time, do you? Much less one who is part of the Council. It seems to me that I would be able to give fresh perspectives, along with the ability to utilize the Force and locate some things which the rest of your agents may not have been able to notice.” 

As she speaks, Theron raises a hand and runs his fingers in thought over his cheeks, listening intently. After she’s done, he diverts his eyes elsewhere, pondering what she has to say, likely not feeling all of it is completely unreasonable.  
“I can neither confirm nor deny whether we have Force users among us at this time, but what you’re saying is still something I’m doubtful of.  
I mean, sure, a Jedi could definitely be handy to have working for the SIS but, it’s not as easy as just coming in and getting the keys to the vault, you know?  
This organization operates very differently from the Jedi Order, and any applicants must have the proper training and understanding, as well as be able to gain trust before being taken in.”

“Are you implying that I cannot be trusted?”

He sighs and shakes his head.  
“No, no, that’s not what I meant. You’re not a risk to anyone, not as far as I know, anyway, but this is certainly not as easy as us just handing over the files because you’re not on our list of suspicious individuals.”

Iron doesn’t glance at Qyzen, but she can virtually feel how he’s starting to swell with the kind of attitude of being correct. Perhaps she should simply give in at this point, but she doesn’t wish to throw it all away yet.  
“I realize there’s a complicated process to enter, but there has to be some kind of gap. You know me, don’t you? Surely, you could vouch for me.”

“Ehh, saying that I ‘know you’ may be a little bit of an exaggeration. I definitely know of your capabilities, but that’s not enough. I mean, I’ve seen what you can do on the battlefield, but we’re talking about spy work here, and I have no idea how you’re like in that environment.  
Besides, even if I could vouch for you, that probably wouldn’t take you very far. The Director isn’t exactly fond of me.” 

His doubts aren’t ones with no foundation. Jedi can blend in, but they’re not known for handling the type of difficulty that an agent’s life can provide. That’s not to say that she’s incapable of trying, though.  
“Perhaps I am not the most obvious choice as an operative, but I have always had an interest in mysteries and intrigue. I wouldn’t necessarily have to be out in the field of wherever you stage your missions, but I could help analyze them. I believe my skills could be an asset to you.  
All I ask is that I’m given a chance, at least, which I don’t think is too much to request.” 

Theron takes a deep breath, knowing he won’t get out of this conversation by trying to argue with her. That much has become clear at this stage.  
“Alright, if you really want me to speak with him about you, I’ll try to argue your case. All I’m saying is, don’t keep your hopes up. You’ll probably be disappointed in the end.” 

Iron doesn’t show much displeasure at this time, even though it certainly would be possible to assume that she isn’t satisfied with the conclusion of this conversation. Qyzen is even more aware of this and frowns slightly. He may not have believed in the idea to begin with, but he’s not going to stand by while his friend, the one he has proclaimed as the Herald of the Scorekeeper, is spoken down to by simple spies.

He takes a step forward and points at Theron.  
“You speak with no confidence, no certainty in your words. A Jedi master, member of Council, wants to help you with search. And you dismiss so easy, without even question why?” 

Theron had noticed the trandoshan on the side of the projector, but hadn’t believed he’d interfere.  
“What? But I-“

“From all you say so far, it sound like SIS not able to get result, not able to follow the tracks that should be. Your prey is out of reach and you have lost scent. And you still reject Herald? Fools, I say.  
If you believe you are only capable hunters, when other knowledge nearby, you will fail with hunt, every time.”

He speaks quickly, raising his voice along with each sentence and Theron sighs, hoping to stand firm before being overwhelmed, but it doesn’t sound like an easy task.  
“Look, I’m not dismissing her, and I’m sure that the Director will be-“

He’s soon interrupted again.  
“You also forget last mission together? Herald fought by your side, protect you from dangerous foe. You not care for debt, not care for paying back when life was protected? Herald almost sacrifice self, willing to lose life to save others. Mean nothing at all to you, or you not care for favors?”

Theron rolls eyes and sighs, feeling it’s going a little bit too far now.  
“Hey, that’s not fair! I am thankful for what she did, and I’m not saying I distrust her, but that doesn’t mean I can risk my career for this.” 

Qyzen snorts derisively, crossing his arms and looks thoroughly unimpressed.  
“If you not willing to take risk and stand up to defend belief, then what worth has your word?” 

Theron glares back at him, pointing at him, but not quite finding the word.  
“You-…that’s not-…  
Y-you can’t just-…  
You know what? I-“  
And that’s as far as he manages to stumble over his words, sighing heavily as he realizes that there’s no way out of this one that doesn’t feel unfair for Iron.  
His shoulders slump and his eyes drifts elsewhere, trying to be sure of what his stance is in this matter. He hesitates for a while longer, pinching at his lower lip, until he finally reaches a decision.  
“Alright, hang on a minute. I’ll be back.”

The call is suddenly severed and there’s only silence in the room for a time. As she’s given the chance, Iron turns herself to face her companion.  
“Qyzen, I…hadn’t expected such a defense. Thank you.” 

The hunter shakes his head briefly.  
“Have stood by your side for years, have seen what you capable of. You are greater than others believe. Will refuse to see it forgotten.  
Your honor important to me and I will defend it, always, Herald.” 

“That means a lot to me.”

Qyzen inclines his head in understanding, not wanting to get all too much praise, but happy to be of service, obviously.  
Almost exactly a minute after it ended, they receive another call, one which Iron has to accept for them. Theron’s signature does appear again, although a little bit weaker than last time.  
“Sorry about that. I needed to change location and encrypt the connection. We should be able to speak safely now. For the most part, anyway.” 

“Does this mean you will be able to help us gain access somehow?”, she asks.

Theron inhales slowly and then exhales heavily.  
“I’m sorry, I can’t officially get you into the system, master Iron, that just won’t be possible. However, there is still something I can do for you, which is pretty useful as well; I can give you a lead.”

She raises a hand of her own, brushing a finger over her lips in thought. A lead isn’t exactly what she wanted but, it’s better than nothing, right?  
“I suppose that will suffice, as long as it is not too vague.” 

“Wouldn’t be a lead if it wasn’t at least a little bit cryptic.  
Anyway, you didn’t hear this from me but, there have been certain rumors of movements in the underground sections of the galaxy, so to speak, where there may have been a few sightings of discussions about some specific documents.  
If I were to guess, and this is just a very educated guess, the place to go looking into these kinds of rumors would definitely be Port Zodric. Have you heard of it?”

Iron shakes her head.  
“I don’t believe I have.”

“It’s a space station out in the neutral systems, which attracts a lot of attention from pretty much every major faction in the galaxy.  
While certain groups, like the SIS, have yet to find anything substantial, a Jedi snooping around carefully might be able to find some aspects that normal agents wouldn’t have thought of. Worth a shot, right?”

So, she has a location, information about the opposition and what she can expects in that kind of place. A pretty decent start.  
“Thank you, agent Shan. Your understanding and cooperation is very appreciated. I promise that I shall repay this at some point.” 

Theron shakes his head.  
“Your pal here made it pretty clear that this is just me repaying what you did for us.  
Anyway, if you do head in that direction, be very cautious and remember that people _will_ be watching.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Next week, it's back to Cierah._


	50. Hunting the unseen (IA)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This chapter occurs during a similar time as the chapter of another story of mine. I'm talking specifically of the[54th chapter](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6838579/chapters/23625555) of Through passion's gateways._
> 
> _There's also another character in this chapter, Nevasc, who first appeared back in chapter 16, but in case you missed it, I also have a[small fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10855596/chapters/24105792) dedicated to her now, written a few months ago, which goes further into her character._

Nights on Dromund Kaas are not all too different from daytime, mostly due to the adverse effect of the dark side of the Force. While the clouds rarely part to give any other weather a chance, it does occasionally happen and the denizens below are allowed to witness the sun, the moons or the stars.  
In terms of activity, though, it varies depending on one’s location. Kaas City for example, is always bustling. Shuttles, ships and speeders going in and out, people coming or going to their jobs, state announcements from holograms or speakers and the security drones fly across every section of the settlement, watching over the citizens as well as making sure they do no wrong.

This night, a few stars can indeed be seen far above, as a particular figure wanders through the crowded streets. She wears a long grey coat with a hat in matching colors, hands dug deep into her pockets. She keeps her head low, as to not gain any attention, making her way towards some of the more exclusive districts of the city, where the powerful tend to live.  
Despite that she seems to simply be walking and minding her own business, like everyone else, her actual attention is constantly drawn towards the skies. If she isn’t looking for the drones, she’s listening for them, the little whirring noise that their engines make, hoping to find a gap in their patrols.

Eventually, she arrives not just in the right district, but in the appropriate region of it, where she can spot a specific sealed off area, guarded by a few imperial soldiers.  
It wasn’t all too long ago since the news came of the assassination attempt made on Darth Imperius, which apparently failed, but was obviously made public, due to it happening in her home. Something came crashing out of the window that night - the perpetrator's body - which is what most of the discussion has focused on. From the citizens’ perspectives, obviously based on propaganda, the investigation is still ongoing, but the military police know what they’re doing. The woman who approaches an alleyway close to the crime scene believes otherwise, due to knowing more of the facts behind the event.

As she raises her head somewhat, a bit of the light from the street lamps is reflected across her face, revealing her non-human appearance to any onlookers. The teal complexion of her skin and the red eyes are, after all, a dead giveaway. Luckily, there’s no one nearby, at least not anyone who is glancing in her direction.  
For now, she rests her back against the wall of the house she’s hidden behind, peering out across the corner and sees the guards a few meters away. She has arrived in an angle to their left side and is therefore somewhat behind them.

The chiss opens her mouth and speaks quietly in Cheunh.  
“Protocol, what is our status?”

A few seconds of silence occurs, though nothing that makes her nervous, until an even, almost mechanical voice is heard from within her internal implants, something no one else can perceive.  
“I have gained access to the imperial security network within this section of the city, and await your orders for how to proceed, Director.”

She continues to let her eyes sweep the area for a little while, making sure that she knows her own approach.  
“Can you do more than just see the area? Do you have control of the drones?”

“Negative. Unfortunately, their movements are based upon another system, and must be accessed from elsewhere. Whether I can gain such control, is currently unknown, but it would likely have to be done from another physical location.”

She simply shakes her head.  
“We cannot wait that long. I will time my approach with their absence. Are you ready?”

“Affirmative.”

Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, she pulls the hat down a little bit further, and then starts moving when the drones have passed by.  
“Initiate blackout.”

Shortly after, without anyone else noticing, the cameras in the area are all switched to a completely different feed, simply looping the previous one over and over, so that she will not be seen or recorded.  
Due to the nature of this neighborhood, there aren’t really many people out on the streets either, certainly not in this section. People want to stay away from unfortunate situations like this crime, as to not garner any suspicion.  
This allows the chiss to simply walk up to the guards and before the first one notices, she pushes a syringe into his neck, inserting some kind of liquid that weakens him almost immediately.

He groans and begins to stumble, which gains the attention from the other, but she is already up behind this one as well, stabbing another syringe into them.  
While she thinks she’s done, a third one suddenly appears from around another corner and grips their gun a bit tighter.

“Hey, what’s going on here? What do you think you’re-“

She rushes at them, tossing a third syringe, which hits right into their neck. Obviously, the liquid hasn’t yet entered them, but the act itself momentarily stuns them. She initiates her implants and her body begins to move unnaturally fast, rushing up to tackle the last guard into the wall and then pushes the drug into them. Just like the last two, they’re out almost immediately, falling to the ground.

“Protocol, status”, she says quietly.

“No alarms have been initiated, nor have any other patrols been issued to head in your direction. You are free to proceed with your investigation, Director.”

She nods curtly in satisfaction and as she’s now past the sealed off section of crime scene, she begins to check it as thoroughly as she possibly can. She lifts a device from her pocket, a special datapad, which makes it easier to search the ground for different metals and unnatural substances.  
Just like she had expected, much of it has been cleaned away. Obviously, the body itself, or what was left of it, is gone by now, but it does appear that some scraps have either been ignored or to be investigated further at a later date.

Moving along the ground, checking each corner, she does eventually pick up a few items. Most of them are small metal pieces, likely from the plates of the implants or armor on the perpetrator, but on the far side of the scene, she locates something more interesting. It appears to be a broken chip of some kind, perhaps something from the internal circuitry of the cyborg. She has examined some of her old implants and sort of knows what these things might look like.

“I believe we have what we need. Insert an application into the system on a timer, which wipes the traces of our intrusion after we’ve left.”

“Acknowledged. Shall I alert your transport to pick you up at the rendezvous location?”

“Please do. And while you are at it, contact Cipher Nine and tell her we are on our way.”  
Before she leaves, she makes sure to drop a shock weapon in one of the alleys. The drug they inserted should affect the memories of the guards and while that’s unfortunate for them, at least they will never know what really happened here.  
  


* * *

  
When Nevasc, Raina’s Chiss Ascendancy contact, informed them that she was coming back from the investigation on Dromund Kaas, Cierah immediately gathered up as much of the team as possible, telling them to stand ready for the other agent. What Nevasc was to deliver for them was going to be a major step in finding out the truth of this entire dilemma.

At this time, Cierah stands together with Raina, Kaliyo and the chiss herself, waiting outside the doors of Doctor Lokin’s lab. For the last few hours he has been running some tests on the items which she brought back, and they’re all eager to hear of the results, but knows it won’t be done immediately. Obviously, due to the somewhat broken status of the evidence, it’s unlikely that they’ll get a direct line to the perpetrators, but the chances of finding some kind of clue is worth the effort.

While they stand there together, Cierah is of course accompanied by her owl, her little ‘Menace’, who constantly stays with her, whenever he can. She was actually quite astonished when he got to encountered Nevasc and didn’t try to do anything to her. In fact, he seemed a bit unnerved by her and hasn’t done anything to be his typical grumpy self.  
For now, however, he looks around nervously from his position on Cierah’s shoulder, apparently feeling the tension from his master. She raises her hand occasionally, running a few fingers through the feathers on his chest to soothe him. Offering him a small treat also seems to help and he calms slightly, being distracted by the meal.

Now that it’s been quiet for a little while, as all of them are distracted by datapads, a terminal nearby and checking their things during the time the Doctor is doing his examination, Cierah feels that she can’t really let the silence continue. She turns towards Nevasc, who’s browsing one of her devices.  
“Was this all you could locate at the crime scene?”

The chiss looks up to her, meeting her gaze. Cierah won’t admit it, but she finds those red eyes unsettling. In some ways, she might say that about all chiss, but this one stands out among the rest. Despite the fact that they’re both organic, they always seem static, mechanical. Somehow, they manage to appear colder than Cierah’s own actual cybernetic one.  
She wonders if it’s due to the nature of chiss society, physiology, or simply the fact that Nevasc knows how to intimidate people better than anyone. Or maybe she’s just like this.

“There were no more pieces of evidence at the location, no. However, I did acquire a few extra images of the district and how it appeared during event, which Protocol picked up from the security camera network.”

The fact that Nevasc also works pretty openly with an AI, without putting any major restrictions on it, isn’t encouraging either. A very different relationship from her own with Scorpio; almost symbiotic.  
“Show me.”

The shots displayed to her aren’t perfect, which isn’t entirely the camera’s fault. Not only was it night time when the assassination occurred, but the body appears to have started exploding before it actually hit the ground, which seems to conform with what Valcera herself had told Cierah shortly after she was contacted.  
However, there are also some pictures that were taken of the building where Valcera lives, after the attempt, displaying the entire side of it, all the way up to Valcera’s window.

“I managed to examine the house from afar, scouting out the possible route taken by the assassin. It is clear to me that the attack was efficient and very cleverly executed, even though they obviously underestimated the Sith.  
No immediate traces of equipment were left on the building, nor have there been reports of any flying vessels being used.”

“So, the reports of a highly sophisticated cyborg are still correct.”

“As far as what I have seen, yes.  
From what me and Protocol have been able to examine across the district, there are no clues which leads me to believe that any more culprits were involved. This one must have been acting alone.”

Cierah nods, raising a hand to stroke her own chin in thought.  
“Mm, I’ve received the same results. Not entirely surprising, but it is unfortunate.  
It does seem obvious that there’s someone else behind this, though. This was not the first attack on one of Darth Imperius’ assets, but it was the first direct attempt on her life.”

“Hmm, that is indeed a worrying situation.”

“This is why I was hoping that your investigation might be able to give us further clues as to the nature of the one responsible. I need to know if we’re dealing with an internal or external threat.”

Nevasc nods briefly, and then gestures towards the lab.  
“The items I brought with me, which your subordinate is currently conducting his tests on, are the only pieces I could acquire. It is what we will be forced to go by.”

Cierah sighs heavily, somewhat annoyed at both herself and the chiss. She had higher hopes, due to Raina’s praise of the older woman, that she would be able to succeed where the others had failed. Well, not like they had much of an option, as Cierah can’t really visit the capital world without being noticed and that’s not something they can allow at this point.  
The most concerning aspect of this entire endeavor, is that none of them have any leads whatsoever, at least not obvious ones, to who the mastermind could be. Every single one that they’ve investigated so far has eventually led them to a dead end, something she’s not used to.  
How can anyone be that good at avoiding detection or removing any hints of their whereabouts? She thought she might be the only one capable of this, after she took the Black Codex, but this one is somehow just as skilled. She gets a feeling that someone or something is outmaneuvering her, but who would be capable of that? Is there a traitor from Imperial Intelligence or is the Star Cabal still functional in some capacity?

“I wonder if that will be enough. From everything we have an encountered up to this point, there has been nothing that can give us any immediate trail to our target.”

Kaliyo has been silent during most of this event, but she now looks up from where she’s sitting and smirks at Cierah.  
“A bit of a sore spot, Agent?”

Cierah sighs.  
“Not now, Kaliyo.”

“What? Pretending not to be affected again? I know you better than that. It stings that these people keep avoiding your grasp, doesn’t it?”

She always manages to find the most inopportune moments to annoy Cierah. Hoping to stop it, she turns towards the rattataki and glares.  
“Shut up.”

Kaliyo snorts amusedly.  
“Going directly for that line, huh? You know, I bet that’s why this guy manages to avoid you. You think you’re so much better at this than the reality of the situation.”

Cierah takes a deep breath, hoping to steady her current emotions, which are clearly influenced by the idea that she knows what she’s being told is the truth. She clenches one of her fists, and Menace follows the motion of his master to glare immediately at Kaliyo as well.  
“If you want me to silence you personally, today you might be given that very privilege.”

“Ohh, getting out the big threats, are we? This one really must’ve hurt your pride.”

The tension grows severely in the room, a fact that Nevasc mostly seem to ignore, but Raina is getting very uncomfortable by it. The latter soon clears her throat, drawing the attention to her instead.  
“Erm, so, Nevasc, where do you intend to go from here? The crime scene didn’t provide us with many new angles, although we’ll obviously need to wait for the test results before saying anything conclusive. Is there anything else you can do?”

Nevasc has her arms folded and nods curtly.  
“I can and we are doing so at this very moment. My agents have moved from their current location, to infiltrating the Sphere more directly. It is possible we may find something from within.”

Cierah glances at her curiously.  
“You can do this so easily? Won’t people suspect chiss simply wandering around?”

She gains a mysterious look in return.  
“Who said they were chiss?”

Obviously a fact that Cierah would want to question her about further, even if Nevasc is unlikely to tell her anything. She’s very secretive when it comes to the inner workings of her organization. All they really know at this point is that their leader, Nevasc herself, is called ‘Director’, and that they have operatives all over the galaxy. Not even the Star Cabal managed to find out much of the truth, probably due to how suspicious chiss are in general of outsiders.

Fortunately, she doesn’t have to, as Doctor Lokin finally steps out of his lab. The troubled look on his face doesn’t send them all too much hope, however.  
“Well then, the preliminary results are in. I assume you want to see them now, Cipher?”, he asks and despite not being entirely satisfied, he does still sound moderately eager.

“We do, Doctor. I hope you’ve found something of note.”

He turns around, gesturing for them to follow and then runs the same hand through his beard in thought.  
“Mm, well, I suppose you can say that I have and that I haven’t.”

They enter the lab, seeing all sorts of instruments, equipment, datapads and terminals strewn across the place. It’s where Cierah has been many times before, but during every new visit, the number of items inside seems to have increased, along with the chaos.  
He directs them towards the table in the center, however, where he has placed a small holographic projector, from which they can currently see a few holograms being displayed at.

“The interior design of the chip is fairly fascinating”, he admits, “and I do recognize it. Several factions and some individuals are known for utilizing them in cybernetic implants, but they are not widely distributed, which does narrow the search result.  
Unfortunately, while I may be able to locate a manufacturer for the core of the chip itself, it’s this aspect which makes the approach useless.”

He pushes a button, the hologram zooms in on the chip’s appearance, going in on very small details, which wouldn’t be visible to the naked eye.  
At that point, they see a few specific areas displayed, looking slightly different from the rest.  
“Alterations?”, Cierah asks.

“Indeed, fairly substantial ones as well. While they’ve used a famous base for the construction of this piece, it seems clear to me that the customizations are not from the same designer at all.  
The possibility to discuss it with the original manufacturer still exists but, I doubt this would lead to anything conclusive.”

Cierah sighs briefly and then raises a hand up to her cheeks, running her fingers over them. She’s unsure now, having hoped that Lokin would at least be able to give them a little bit of valuable news, but they’re now possibly on another dead trail.  
“I see your point, but we can’t abandon this immediately. If our target has made the alterations themselves, or at least found someone who can, then it means that they either knew of the intricacies of the layout for the chip, or managed to attain aid from someone who did.  
If you can discuss this fact with the designer, then we could potentially locate one new clue. If it turns out to be of no use, then we drop it.”

“As you wish, Cipher. I will see who I can contact and clear this out.”

In the midst of the confusion and hopeless outlook, Nevasc turns to address Cierah again.  
“We cannot forget how large number of potential suspects we are dealing with here. It might be unmanageable. Infighting and assassination attempts, as far as what history has told us, are not uncommon among the Dark Council.”

Cierah exhales once more. She has been doing a lot of that lately.  
“I agree, but I know more of these attempts than you think. I’ve studied the previous investigations, the fights and the outcome of the scenarios, and despite what we may believe of them, there has always been some kind of lead involved.  
Even the handful of times when people could find none at all, a few traces were hidden in the open, something that paranoia likely made them ignore. In those specific examples, the truth wasn’t revealed until after the victim was killed and we do not really have the freedom of such an option. Darth Imperius must survive.”

Raina inclines her head.  
“It’s not just that we’re allied with Darth Imperius, we actively believe she is needed. Her attitude, agenda and way to operate are likely elements that can help the Empire change and improve.  
She has a different kind of mindset from most Sith, something which could make the Empire more open, more welcoming, perhaps even to further integration of the chiss. Her survival benefits us all, Nevasc.”

Nevasc glances between the two women, and while Raina is more visibly adamant, she suspects that Cierah shares these emotions on almost the same level.  
“I understand your predicament. A new outlook for the Empire is certainly something which I’m sure the Ascendancy at large would approve of.  
However, while my agents and I can certainly investigate and infiltrate, we cannot go directly and break into Dark Council member’s quarters. The risk involved, including the impossibly low chances of success, are not ones I am willing to accept.”

Her opinion and caution are not unreasonable and Cierah understands that, especially after what imperial intelligence endured. She shakes her head and raises a hand to hopefully calm some worries.  
“And we see your point of view as well. Obviously, we won’t ask you to do anything all too drastic, but any kind of increased investigative approach that you can take, we would be thankful for. We need something on the criminal we’re hunting right now, anything at all. The smallest clue could be a major stepping stone.”

For a few moments, Nevasc merely stares at her in silence, giving Cierah the same eerie sensations as previously. She’s not sure whether the chiss is discussing something with the AI, trying to give the Cipher a sign or if she’s merely thinking.  
Eventually, she continues the conversation.  
“Our initial agreement for this cooperation did not involve this type of activity, but I will admit that you have provided us with valuable information to give us further access into your society.  
This is why I am willing to tell you that we may have a small detail which could be a path to a possible truth.”

Cierah and Raina glances at each other, the latter smiling in excitement at the thought, but Cierah tries to remain unfazed.  
“Very well, we’re listening.”

“Protocol located one piece of news which stood out to us, from all the logs it examined.  
Within the data, it was stated that two days before the assassination attempt, the majority of security drones were redirected to another location. This is why so few were available on that night.  
Apparently, the reason given was due to an emergency restructuring of city blocks in the southern district, and preparations needed to be made for new buildings. The drones were necessary to watch over the area.  
However, we have not yet seen the start of this process, which makes me wonder whether this was deliberate or merely an unfortunate coincidence.”

Raina widens her eyes, while Cierah scowls.  
“Interesting. Do you know who’s responsible?”, the latter asks.

“I do. According to one of my agents, the man who gave this order was either Darth Vowrawn himself or one of his closest subordinates.”

The words immediately silences the other women, almost shocking Cierah. She had not expected to hear this man be accused of anything like this.  
“Vowrawn? That’s-…somehow, this seems unlikely.”

“As I said, I am not sure if it was deliberate, but he is our most direct suspect. I find it strange that this surprises you, however. He is Sith and as far as we know, this is how they operate.”

“He is, I know, but from everything I have been able to extract and hear of him, he and Darth Imperius are on the same page for what needs to happen with the Empire. That he would try to kill one of his closest allies is just…I can’t see any motives for it.”

Nevasc nods.  
“Then, shall we investigate his Sphere’s quarters directly? I know a useful entry point to a databank belonging to the Ministry of Logistics, on Ziost. It could provide the access we need.”

“If you are willing to come with us, then yes, we accept”, Cierah says, while stroking a few fingers through Menace’s feathers again. She feels how both her own and the owl’s tension is somewhat dispersing, as they’re glad that they finally have something to go by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Next week, this story is going on a break, as I'm gonna focus on finishing Through passion's gateways. I know I'm leaving it in the middle of a sort of cliffhanger (not that exciting, perhaps), but I'll get back to it in two weeks._


	51. Under the lost seal (IA)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Before we start, I think it would be wise of me to warn readers of this chapter and that it contains descriptions of torture. I'm not sure if you might say that it's explicit, nor is it the main part of the chapter, but it is there and as I'm not going to judge what people find disturbing, just thought I'd tell you this beforehand._

Ziost. It’s rare for Cierah to be given the chance to come to one of the major worlds within the Empire and not only because of the rather difficult situation that she and her crew have found themselves in at this time. This planet may have had the attention of Imperial Intelligence for quite some time, but she never really found a reason to come here during her assignment to that organization. Their headquarters were on Dromund Kaas and the most important tasks were sent from the Imperial Citadel. There were obviously agents on this place like anywhere else, but in the way that the old Keeper – and later Minister – wanted to utilize her specific skills, were not very well suited for Ziost. Whether that is a shame or not, she can’t really tell. The climate of many districts on the capital world has always suited her more, likely due to it being the place where she grew up. Most regions on Ziost are often too dry or cold.

At this time, she is hiding under the cover of night, standing by a speeder bike, with her protégé Raina at her side. The alleyway they’ve stopped inside of has a pretty good view of a building belonging to the Sphere of Production and Logistics in New Adasta. Their reason for watching it is due to waiting for a particular man who will emerge from it, a human Sith. This Sith’s name is Amados Karekko, and while he’s not privy to any of Vowrawn’s critical secrets, he is an advisor and therefore has access to the databank that they need to look into.

For now, though, they’re waiting, and while Cierah can just stand around like this for hours, Raina seems to get a little bit more antsy. After a time, she decides that it might be good to try a conversation.  
“So, what do you think of this place? I can’t remember when I was last on Ziost.”

Cierah offers her subordinate a brief glance with her organic eye, trying to determine if she should tell her to be quiet or not. She would prefer it that way but, then again, it isn’t really that crucial. Besides, Raina is one of those she actually enjoys speaking with.  
“Nor can I. It has been quite some time now. Can’t say I regret it either. What few memories I can still recall are not the most enjoyable.”

Raina looks at her curiously then, leaning a bit closer on the wall, so that they can hear each other without having to speak too loudly.  
“Oh? That sounds intriguing. Would you like to talk about them?”

It’s not so strange that she would be interested. Cierah rarely speaks of her past, at least with anyone who isn’t Jovana and even the mandalorian doesn’t get to hear every detail. That said, what is on her mind right now doesn’t necessarily need to be hidden.  
“I suppose I can, it’s just…”

She frowns, making Raina a little worried.  
“It’s just what?”

Cierah hesitates, letting her eye wander out over the area, instead of looking at her companion when she speaks.  
“The last clear memory I have of this place is the months I spent here as a cadet. It was not exactly an experience I remember fondly.”

“How so?”

“Well, the majority of what we did here was the same as it is for everyone on that level. The training is strict, efficient and challenging. It is meant to test your resolve, cunning, endurance and more.  
That said, during one of our sessions, the instructor who was assigned to us was pushing us extra hard, to the point where he eventually tried to get us to hurt one another.”  
She has practically forgotten about the world around her now, folding her arms and resting against the wall, seeing the images before her.  
“The thing was, I knew he was being watched by a certain Sith and rather closely as well. It seemed likely that he was somehow trying to prove himself, but I would not let that be transmitted to us. I refused to do what he asked. Naturally, he did not take kindly to such defiance and after it was done, he saw to it that I was punished in public, probably in an attempt to humiliate me.”

Raina looks a bit unsure, not realizing that Cierah must’ve gone through a lot of grueling scenarios in the past. It makes her wonder if the Cipher has always been like this, or if her experiences has shaped her.  
“What did he do?”

Cierah frowns momentarily, before she simply snorts.  
“It does not matter, but let us just say he did not make me any more agreeable.”

“Right. Did you…seek revenge after that?”

The question makes the Cipher smile faintly, only barely visible.  
“Am I that obvious?”

“What? Oh, n-no! It’s just-…  
I don’t want to be critical of you, sir, I…”

Raina’s reaction seems to amuse her further, but she doesn’t appear to be particularly annoyed.  
“It’s just who I am, I suppose?”

Raina clears her throat and fidgets with her hands.  
“Mm.”

“Don’t worry, you are correct.  
Even back then, I was fairly good at slicing and I actually managed to get into his office, as well as his personal terminal.  
I extracted some of his most private conversations and messages, deleted some of the information he likely would find useful and generally made a mess before I left. Naturally, I forwarded a lot of the embarrassing things my instructor had said directly to the Sith, through an anonymous mail. It was enough for him to get severely punished and reassigned.”

Raina looks surprised at first, not having expected to hear of even young Cierah doing something like that. She then starts to giggle.  
“Wow, that is pretty impressive! You must have enjoyed doing that.”

“Immensely. I have never been one to condone sabotage against the Empire in general, but I felt no remorse there. One of my proudest moments as a teenager, actually.”

Shortly after they have finished their discussion, they receive a noise over their comm units and Nevasc’s voice is heard, but without any accompanying visual feedback.  
“Raina? Cipher Nine? I have news.”

Cierah raises her arm and pushes a button on the device, holding it closer to her mouth.  
“We’re listening.”

“Amados is on his way out of the facility at this time, together with his driver. They will likely utilize an air speeder to leave the vicinity of this area.”

Leaning out from the corner, Cierah opens her eyepatch with some internal process, scanning the closest section of the streets around them for signs of movement. There’s a few guards close to the building, possibly with access to automated turrets by the entrance, but nothing substantial. If they need to break inside, the strike won’t be difficult to complete, but it would likely set off alarms which could make it a tad more problematic.  
That said, due to the lacking number of sentries, it might be that no one notices their ambush on the advisor, or whatever their plan is.

“Very well”, Cierah responds. “Do you have any suggestions for how we proceed?”

“Yes. I believe it would be best if I board the roof of the speeder when it leaves through the outer gate, while you grab your bike and follow us, in order to support me. The cameras in that section have been disabled and there are no guards currently stationed nearby.”

Cierah narrows her eyes slightly.  
“Sounds risky”, she admits, which it is. Would it really be worth going for something so drastic?  
“Could we not simply shadow him to his home and take him there?”

“Possibly, but it would waste too much time, in my opinion. If we seek to return with his unconscious body to drain the truth, it might appear suspicious if he has been gone for too long.”

“Hmm, true. I suppose we go with your plan then.”

She may be ready to agree with the chiss, but Raina is a little bit more hesitant.  
“Are you sure you wish to handle that alone, Nevasc? We could come and back you up more directly, if you give us time to find a better position.”

They notice a few seconds of silence before the chiss responds again.  
“I am not that old, Raina.”

Cierah arches a brow and glances at Raina, who simply smiles and shrugs.  
“Alright then, I suppose we’ll indulge you for now”, the Ensign agrees.

Before they get up on the bike, both Cierah and Raina put on helmets, ones with dark visors, which covers their identities. This headgear also becomes attached to the light armors they’re wearing, making them even more difficult to be revealed, should anyone make the attempt.  
As they notice how the speeder has begun to drive off, they follow suit, hoping that the louder noise from the other vessel somehow obscures the noise of their own. For now, it does appear to work, as no other individual has reacted to their approach.

When they’re at the exit, seeing how the other vehicle is about to leave, they wonder if something went awry and if Neva perhaps didn’t fulfill her end of the strategy they had worked out. She is certainly good, but it’s difficult to say if she always succeeds. Cierah trusts Raina’s word, but she is not as sure if she can really believe that-  
Her thoughts abruptly end when she and Raina witness how someone in white and grey armor practically comes flying down from the top of a nearby building, through a surprisingly agile move. In order to not drop off the vessel, she has drawn her vibrosword, slamming it through the roof of the speeder and holds onto the hilt.

The whole procedure is not just impressive to watch, but naturally surprises the driver enough to stop them from fleeing too quickly, likely due to shock. In order to enhance this notion, Nevasc grabs a silenced blaster pistol from her belt and fires several times at the roof, as well as the hood of the speeder. The driver is not able to act very quickly and keeps their vessel low, as well as driving fairly slow.  
Seeing the opportunity, Cierah increases the speed of her bike until it ends up right next to the window where the driver is. This is the sign for Raina to act, who raises a blaster rifle and aims it straight for them. Instead of shooting the one behind the wheel, she makes a quick motion to the descend. The driver follows these instructions.

Seeing as how there’s a Sith inside this vehicle, they already know that he will not go down without a fight. The driver, a female mirialan, steps out first and Nevasc jumps down immediately to knock her out.  
Amados is a man with light brown complexion, shoulder-length black hair and neatly trimmed beard. He grits his teeth and pulls out his lightsaber to defend himself, but this was expected. Raina and Cierah had driven to separate position, hiding in order to prepare another ambush. Just as the Sith spots Nevasc, he gets a rifle at his back and a pistol aimed at his head. Despite whatever strength he might possess, he’s clearly outnumbered and not even a Sith can dodge a blaster shot from this range.

“You cowardly scum!”, he exclaims. “Do you know who I work for?”

“Of course,” Cierah responds calmly. “Why do you think we targeted you?”  
As she’s not about to give him an explanation, she then proceeds to raise her pistol and slam the handle of it at the back of his head, knocking him out as well.

Nevasc holsters her weapons, places her hands at her hips and looks down at the results of their work, nodding with satisfaction.  
“Well done. This went much smoother than I anticipated. We should tie them up, throw them into the backseat and return to the entrance. I doubt the guards will question if the advisor simply forgot to bring something with him.”

“Good idea”, Cierah admits. “Raina, you keep an eye on our captives and I shall handle the security personnel when we get to the gate.”  
  


* * *

  
After retrieving the outfit that the driver wore, Cierah gets into the driver’s seat and takes the speeder back in through the gates of the facility. The guards seem pretty convinced by the excuse Nevasc suggested, because why would they wish to question the whims of a Sith anyhow? The fact that she’s human isn’t an element they get to see very well, due to the Cipher choosing not to pull the window down all too far, and keeping her hat fairly low.

Once they stop inside the garage, where they’re left alone, Cierah shuts off the engine and looks into the backseat, where the other two are waiting.

“So, what do we do about the cameras? There’s bound to be some.”

Nevasc nods, pretty unperturbed.  
“Do not worry, dealing with such things is one of Protocol’s specialties. It will get this done in a moment.”

Raina looks at the chiss in mild surprise.  
“Wait, you already set that up? When did you manage that?”

Nevasc amusedly arches one of her brows.  
“What do you think I did while we were waiting?”

Once the cameras are disabled, or at least put on a similar loop as what Protocol fixed for Nevasc back on Dromund Kaas, they get out and find a corner where they can drop off the driver safely, keeping her tied and gagged to a location which she cannot escape from. Amados, however, comes with the trio, as they carry him further into the building, trying to locate his office.

Minutes later, when they find some way to awaken the Sith, the first thing he sets his eyes on are the two armored figures of Cierah and Nevasc, both of them wearing their helmets. When trying to move his arms, he finds out that they have been strapped to some sort of steel chair, as have his legs, making struggling quite useless.  
Nevasc leans closer, placing a hand on his right arm and turns her visor towards his face.

“Mister Amados Karekko, we wish to have a little chat with you. As you may noticed, we are within the same building where you have your office. We require something inside of this place, and you will help us attain it.”

He frowns and snorts derisively.  
“You think I’m afraid of you? Try again, you miserable wretch.”

Moments after this, he feels how someone pushes something against the back of his head and when he tries to glance over his shoulder, he notices another individual, Raina, holding a rifle up towards it. Not encouraging, but he probably already realized he was kinda screwed in this position.  
“Your fear is not needed”, Nevasc explains, “only your cooperation. We want access to the room where you keep a certain network databank. It is password-locked and we need you to give it to us.”

Amados watches her for a few more moments before he emits a bitter laugh.  
“What, you think I’m just going to hand it over because you threaten me with death? You haven’t interrogated many Sith, have you? This is pathetic.”

“I know more than you might think, but I would prefer if we keep this as peaceful as possible.”

He sneers at her.  
“Have you not heard? Peace is a lie. Shoot me or release me, just get this done with. Threats won’t break me.”

She tilts her head curiously and while it’s hard to tell, Raina is fairly sure she can hear a little bit of amusement in Nevasc’s voice in her next statement.  
“Very well.”  
She plants one of her armored hands against his neck and while he’s confused at first, it soon becomes very apparent why. His body begins to shake violently as a jolt of electricity is shot right into it and pain surges through him, almost too much for him to react to. It may be over as soon as it started, but by his panting, he obviously didn’t enjoy it.  
“If threats will not help, perhaps pain will.”

He breathes heavily, spitting at her once before he responds. It lands on her shoulder, but she doesn’t even react.  
“Y-You fucking arsehole!”

“Now then, in order for you to understand, I shall make it as clear as possible. If you continue to resist, or attempt to utilize any of your Force-related gifts, I shall have to proceed with the same treatment. Do you understand?”

Amados is silent at first, probably considering his response and where his current position might be in this whole scenario. Shortly after, he begins to laugh, but it’s impossible to hide the nervous undertone.  
“You…you think this…pitiful measure of torture…could ever convince me to-“

He doesn’t even get to finish his sentence, as Nevasc shoots another electric jolt into him, this time for a few more seconds. It’s enough that his body actually manages to prepare a scream, which unfortunately reaches no one but the three of them. The chiss had obviously taken every step to make this as efficient as possible.  
Cierah doesn’t seem to flinch by what she’s witnessing, but Raina isn’t quite as sure. It’s difficult to see, due to the helmet she’s wearing, but her body did twitch briefly, just as Nevasc initiated the attack.

“I was not done, mister Amados. For each time you resist, I shall slowly and steadily increase the volume of the shocks, and the settings I have equipped in this suit are quite severe. I urge you to reconsider your current path, unless you wish to feel the next stage.”

This time, he listens for a little while longer, still panting and his body actually appears to twitch a few times, even after the shocks are gone. They don’t need to feel the Force in order to see the fear on his face. Perhaps he’s unused to torture or maybe he just never believed he, as a Sith, would ever be placed in a situation like this. Either way, Nevasc’s methods does break him.  
He grits his teeth and glares at her.  
“…fine. I…I shall give you the code”, he admits reluctantly. “But you will regret this.”

“I do not care”, she responds with an even tone, not removing her hand.  
“The code.”

“601-04627-DV-134671-DM-OCT1442-KAASSTAR.”

While Nevasc continues to watch their prisoner, she nods back at Cierah, who turns around and proceeds towards the correct door. Having written down the code on a datapad, she pushes it into the keypad which is situated next to the entrance and gets inside.  
Within, she locates a bunch of different devices, not only databank servers and terminals, but various technological items, and not all of them imperial. Code readers, controllers, navigational boards, even a holocron.  
She ignores most of them and proceeds to the correct console. While this one has security as well, at least she’s able to utilize her slicing skills here without having to go through a much longer process.  
For a few minutes, she searches through the databank, utilizing various keycodes, checking files from the date they’ve been searching for and ones specifically sent from Vowrawn to the appropriate departments. Unfortunately, she finds no answers.

Cierah steps back outside and glares at Amados, even if he can’t see it.  
“What we are looking for is not inside.”

He snorts bitterly and shrugs.  
“Too bad. What do you want me to do about it?”

“You will tell us what you know then. Who was responsible for altering the routes of the security drones within Kaas City, during the last week?”

The Sith watches her for several moments, but all they receive in return is a look of surprise.  
“…what?”

“You heard me. Someone altered the course of the security drones, but we cannot find the culprit. Was it Vowrawn? Is he responsible?”

“I…I don’t even know what you’re talking about? This is ridiculous. If this is really-“

But Nevasc will not allow him to talk his way out of this, which is what she assumes he’s trying and another shock runs through his body. His hands grip the armrests on the chair to an unnerving degree, so much that the sharp corners start to dig into his skin, leaving a few small trails of blood. Once she’s done, he leans back into the chair now, looking exhausted. He probably won’t last through this treatment as much as he initially would have liked to admit.

“We are not interested in excuses”, Nevasc tells him. “You know something and we want that answer.”

However, even Cierah is a bit perturbed this time and plants a hand on the chiss’ shoulder, making her reluctantly take a step back. It doesn’t need to be said, but he has clearly had enough.  
“Speak, and all of this will be over”, Cierah tells him.

He has to really make an effort to stay in the conversation now, having almost been on the verge of passing out.  
“I…I can’t answer you!”, he manages to force out of his throat. “I honestly don’t know what it is you’re looking for. Security drones in Kaas City?”

“Yes. They were rescheduled in an emergency to another region. We believe this may have been one of the underlying reasons for why Darth Imperius was attacked and almost assassinated.”

This piece of information seems to surprise him and he tries to tread forward cautiously.  
“Do you…do you work for-“

“No, we do not work for the Councilor. If we did, we would have demanded that you relinquish this information. We are merely an interested third party.”  
She holds a datapad up towards him.  
“This one is connected to your internal network. Guide me through it and help me find the right file.”

He is not particularly keen on doing as she says, but he helps her out, not really having any choice.  
Eventually, they find the correct file, likely related to what Nevasc’s agents saw earlier.  
Amados actually looks a bit surprised.  
“This is…strange, though.”

“How so?”

“It does not utilize our normal authorization codes for archiving documents. There’s something wrong with it.  
Take my personal password, Addiron-1377-Q-BIR51. Try to look into the interior log.”

Cierah does as he instructed and tries to see what could possibly be wrong. It doesn’t take a long amount of time for her to succeed.  
“Hmm…I see.”

Raina watches her with interest, obviously curious of what’s going on.  
“What did you find?”

“It appears that the intel we retrieved were…incorrect. According to the information tied to this file, the drones were not moved at all, but it was made to appear within the system as if they were. This is likely what our…agents located.”

Nevasc’s face cannot be seen at this time, but Cierah can guess how the chiss might feel about being tricked.  
“Does it say who created this order?”, Nevasc inquiries.

“No. The name has been redacted.”

Most of those inside of the room are quite shocked right now, not only due to all they’ve gone through to get here, but the end result being such a letdown.  
“But…this makes no sense”, Raina says. “This shouldn’t be possible, right? And why would anyone do this?”

Cierah shakes her head.  
“It is not strange at all. In fact, I should probably have seen this coming, but it was so skillfully executed that I did not notice in my foolishness. Vowrawn is being framed.  
Whomever set this into motion knows what they’re doing, all the way to the extent that they realized how people would be looking into the matter and therefore planted obvious ‘evidence’ for us to find.”

There are few things which fills Cierah with such contempt as the notion of being outsmarted. It appears someone just made the top of her shitlist. Now she only needs to find a name for the offender.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, so that whole scenario basically gave them no more information. Well, other than that Vowrawn is innoce-_   
>  _...okay, maybe Vowrawn can't be called "innocent" in general, but he is not the culprit in this case!_
> 
> _Anyway, next chapter goes to Zal'riva._   
>  _As you may have noticed from the description, I have also changed the days when this story will go up, from Thursdays to Wednesdays and Saturdays. As I have the time now that "Through passion's gateways" is over, I kinda just wanna speed up the pace, that's all. We've got about 20-ish chapters left, so, yeah._


	52. Unwitting star (SW)

“Look, all I’m saying is, you shouldn’t get your hopes up, because you will be disappointed.”

The voice can be heard quite well through the halls of the Imperial Citadel on Dromund Kaas, at least if one stands nearby. The speaker isn’t screaming, exactly, but due to the lack of people in the vicinity, she feels pretty confident about letting her words run freely without whispering.  
If anyone were to see the trio approaching, one might at first glance feel like it’s quite an unusual sight, until the realization that these three are very well-known around the Empire, with the tallest one being more so than the others. 

Zal’riva Vivees, or the ‘Emperor’s Wrath’, is currently on her way to leave this building with her two companions. However, she has been pretty silent while Vette and Jaesa are discussing, or possibly arguing about the current topic. Vette is, as usual, slightly more skeptical.  
“I’m not sure why you believe that”, Jaesa tells her. “The possibilities for us has expanded now and we should obviously try to seize them.”

Vette walks in the middle, her arms folded and shakes her head.  
“It just won’t work, Jae. Trust me. They’re not gonna listen.”

Jaesa currently has her hood pulled up and keeps her hands hidden in the pockets of her robes. She scowls at Vette, although not in anger as much as uncertainty.  
“Why do you say that?” 

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re too idealistic.  
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d love it if you could change the views of every crazy megalomaniacal laser-brained moron in the Sith Order, but actually making it work? Sorry, just don’t think it can be done.”

Jaesa listens to her, understanding her point, but doesn’t look ready to back down.  
“Well, even if you don’t, it won’t stop me. I am going through with my plan and I will talk to them, no matter what you say.” 

Vette rolls her eyes and sighs.  
“Jae…”

“Besides, it’s not like I’m telling them to become Jedi. I only want to introduce a few more balanced sources in their training and education, that’s all. I think that’s reasonable.” 

“Yeah, because _you_ are reasonable, Jae. They’re not! You give them some notes of how to be better people, and they’ll give you a lightsaber to the face. It will happen!”

“No, it won’t, Vette. You have too many scary ideas in your mind about the Sith. I am a Lord now and they will at least hear me out.”

It seems they aren’t coming to any sort of accord, making Vette sighs heavily and soon turns to her other companion.  
“Zal, come on, agree with me here! Tell her not to get into this crazy stuff.” 

The taller twi’lek arches her brow when she looks down at Vette, a bit amused that her friend doesn’t simply want backup, she wants someone to parrot her words.  
The reason Zal came to the Citadel in the first place was to make inquiries on behalf of the Emperor regarding certain Dark Council business. Well, on behalf of the Emperor’s Hand, anyway, which she has to take most of her orders from at this time. She’s not sure how the hell that led to a discussion about the current path of the Sith Order. Must’ve started when they were talking to Ashara, Valcera’s apprentice, who they met with earlier. 

“Can’t handle a debate on your own, hmm?”, she asks.

Vette snorts.  
“Oh, I can, but Jae won’t listen to me right now. She always listens to you though, so help me out!”

Zal turns her gaze away, over towards Jaesa and while the new Lord may pretend that she won’t be deterred, she does give the larger twi’lek an expectant gaze.  
Zal would be lying if she said that she doesn’t enjoy Jaesa’s idealism. In fact, it’s part of why they have gotten along so well during all this time. This is why she is careful when she expresses her opinion.  
“Well…I do agree with your assessment of what needs to be done, Jaesa, but perhaps it would be wise not to be all too hasty.  
Vette does have a point in that many Sith have a difficult time changing, even as society progresses around them.” 

Jaesa looks hesitant and mildly disappointed to hear Zal agreeing, even if she understands, but she pushes onwards.  
“But haven’t you always told me that we need to work towards a change? To be the future that we hope to see in the Empire?”

Normally, Zal wouldn’t be comfortable about speaking of these topics in the open, but they are still within barely populated corridors of a department belonging to the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge and she is more than sure that Val would help protect them, if necessary. Besides, she’s the Emperor’s Wrath – if she wishes to speak her mind, she will.  
“I do, and I believe we should try to succeed with this endeavor, but that does not mean attempting to suggest alterations in the core of Sith Academy curriculum at this time is the way to go.”

“Why not? It’s only a suggestion.  
I want them to see that there are Sith who care about this and we will not stay silent. Why would this be troubling anyhow? I am a Sith Lord now, so, surely I should be allowed to speak my opinion.”

It’s not an easy topic to deal with and Zal is torn between feeling a desire to support this type of action, especially when pushing suggestions like this in their faces, and wanting to protect Jaesa from dangers that might befall her.  
“I agree, but that does not necessarily mean that they will listen. We must keep in mind that the members of the Sphere of Sith Philosophy might-“

“There she is!”, someone says from afar, interrupting whatever Zal was about to say.  
“M-my lord! Lord Wrath!”  
They turn to the side to see how a group of people, consisting of half a dozen young individuals, come closer to the trio from another direction than the one they were heading towards. Seeing as how someone is calling her name, though, Zal decides to stop.  
“May we…approach?”

The group of six are all in imperial uniforms, but the more interesting aspect is the fact that none of them are humans.  
It’s a female zabrak, a male twi’lek, a female miraluka, a male nautolan, a female nautolan and a male duros. All of them watch Zal with expectant eyes.

She’s not sure what to say at first, her hesitation showing in the way that her lekkus twitches slightly, but they do make her curious, enough so that she might allow this.  
“…uh, sure, I guess.” 

Smiles spread across the group and they close the distance towards the trio, making even Vette and Jaesa very intrigued.  
The one who speaks first, and seemingly the one who called out, is the male nautolan.  
“It…it is an honor to stand before you, Lord Wrath. You mean a lot to all of us.”

The miraluka smiles briefly and nods.  
“Your presence among the Sith has had a profound impact, and we want to be able to express that in some way.”

From what Zal can hear, all of them appear to speak Basic with various imperial accents as well, meaning that most of them either were enslaved at an early age, grew up from a line of slaves or live within one of the colonies.  
“You are likely the reason that we’re even able to stand here in the first place”, the male twi’lek agrees. 

Zal isn’t sure what to say here. She is used to being shown deference by most, if not all imperials she ever encounters, but it’s rare for her to have people showering her with such praise.  
“Uh, right. Could someone please explain what’s going on here? I don’t even know who you are.” 

They look a bit surprised, before some of them chuckle slightly.  
“Ah, damn, I guess we just sort of pounced you,” the miraluka realizes.

Vette smirks.  
“Don’t worry, she’s used to much more severe pouncing, with more fists being involved.”

Zal rolls her eyes at Vette trying to be funny again, but the group still has their focus on the Sith.  
“Well, you see, we’re all soldiers of the Imperial military, m’lord”, the female nautolan explains.  
“And we’re proud to be here.”

“Yes, I can see that much”, Zal admits, “but it’s rare for any of…well, our kind to be recruited for such positions. Are you in the 7th Division, 16th battalion?”

Even as she asks it, she knows it’s unlikely, as she doesn’t recall ever being allowed to leave their specific areas out in the jungle, unless rules have been loosened to an astounding degree.  
Most of them appears surprised, and the male twi’lek continues.  
“What? No, not the suici-…well, them. We’re not slaves! We are actual free soldiers, serving for the glory of the Empire.” 

Obviously an even more intriguing element and she’s practically shocked. Why has she not heard of this?  
“Since when did the military recruit non-humans into any ranks other than that battalion?”

“Well, it is fairly new, my lord”, the miraluka explains, “but there’s been a lot of changes in the structure of the army and navy during the last few years. Perhaps we should introduce ourselves.”

The male twi’lek, with green complexion, stands taller, straightening his back and salutes.  
“Private Iak’sel of the 6th Division, 11th battalion in the Imperial Army!”

The male nautolan, having blue skin and black tattoos across his head-tails, puts a closed fist to his chest in another sign of respect.  
“Corporal Hod Yanta of the 4th fleet in the Imperial Navy.” 

The female nautolan, having a complexion somewhere between brown and green with a modified hat adorning her head, smiles widely and salutes similarly to Iak’sel.  
“Private First Class Shir Seoa of the 4th Division, 3rd brigade, m’lord!”

The light blue duros, standing somewhat in the back, is a bit quieter than the rest when he shows a similar sign.  
“Corporal Morat Kashar of the 4th Division, 8th brigade, at your service, my lord.”

The miraluka, probably the one with the firmest voice, has dark brown complexion, long black hair currently tied in a braid and piece of grey cloth tied over the eye region. Her salute is a little lazier, but Zal can feel pride oozing from her regardless.  
“Sergeant Eon’Kintel of the 7th Division, 2nd battalion and honored to serve, Dark Lord.”

After each of the five have said something, they all turn towards the last one, who has hardly said anything at all so far. The female zabrak - with red skin, black hair, black tattoos and horns mostly around the center of her head - does her best to put on a brave face, but she is obviously nervous to stand here. She tries to gather herself and then mirrors the others.  
“Ensign Vondilla of the 2nd fleet.” 

Zal watches her with interest, before smiling and folding her arms.  
“Ensign?”

“Yes, my lord. I…I am one of the few aliens who not only got into the officer academy, but also passed it.” 

It appears, both from their expressions and the emotions that Zal can pick up from them, that she is the pride of the group.  
“Well then, congratulations, Ensign. You bring honor to you and your peers, and the rest of you should be just as proud for what you perform for the Empire.”

All of them show her various degrees of a smile at hearing her say that. She’s not certain why she means so much to them, but every positive aspect she displays is something they take to heart. Probably best to stick to praise.  
“We are all devoted to the Empire and ready to prove ourselves as much as possible”, Eon’Kintel tells her.

“I have noticed as much. But how did this come to be? Has anyone told you of why you’ve been promoted?”

Hod nods briefly.  
“They have. Well, perhaps not directly, but all the rumors and news spreading say that it is mostly due to Darth Imperius and Darth Malgus making sure to relax rules, restructuring and recruiting into important roles.”

“It appears that people like us are now seen as more valuable in our current roles than…as slaves”, Vondilla adds.  
“Though we suspect Imperius is behind a lot of it. Despite not being as public, Imperius does her best to get the attitudes and mindsets of the Empire changes.” 

Without saying anything, Zal realizes that this is probably Val’s own method to reduce slavery, which is quite ingenious in its simplicity. Instead of simply asking people to free them, she makes sure to show what use they have for the Empire and allow the people themselves to prove what they can do. That should’ve been an obvious conclusion for most, but it appears someone had to push for the processes to begin and the Council had not had an alien in their midst until her ascension.

“I’m glad to hear of it”, she says, “and I hope you all do well. I’m sure the rest will see that we are as ready to do what’s necessary for the Empire as any human or pureblood is.”

“We will,” Hod agrees, “but you and Imperius has done most of the work already. The two of you have been, and still are, role models in this field.”

Private Shir grins and nods.  
“Yes! Not only do the two of you perform so well, but you’re also proving to the humans how capable we are!”  
She and the rest suddenly realize that there is one standing not too far away and Shir hesitates.  
“Uh, no offense, m’lord.” 

Jaesa simply smiles and raises a reassuring hand.  
“None taken. In fact, as Lord Wrath’s subordinate and her former apprentice, I am naturally on your side; although my opinions were already on a similar level even before we met.”

The group of soldiers look both relieved and happy to hear her say it.  
“It must be amazing to work under someone like Lord Wrath”, Eon’Kintel suggests.

For the trio, this group almost act like some kind of fans of Zal’s and while she’s a bit uncomfortable with it, Jaesa and Vette stands ready to help with the notion.  
“It is”, Jaesa concurs. “Master Zal is very different from most of those I have trained under in the past and she is a very positive step for the Empire; not just for non-human rights, but her stance on the Force and Sith progression as well.”

Vette nods and smirks.  
“She’s pretty much the best boss I’ve had too. I mean, she cares about us, so that’s definitely something I’ve never had before, but she’s also a lot sweeter than how she acts in public.”

Zal rolls her eyes.  
“Alright, let’s not go overboard with this, shall we? I think they’ve heard enough.”

“Oh, no, that’s fine!”, Iak’sel says.  
“We love hearing everything about you, my lord. If we can help spread the idea of how understanding you can be as well, all the better!”

“One of the more exciting elements of having you in this kind of role is seeing you on all the holos”, Hod remarks, “especially the news network broadcasting your actions in the war.”

“Or Darth Imperius’ public political debates”, Morat adds.

“And let’s not forget Lord Wrath’s speech”, Eon’Kintel says, smiling widely. “That one you held after the attack on the Emperor was pretty glorious, my lord.”

“Ah, that one”, Zal says and scratches the back of her neck. Her lekku moves to envelop her wrist slightly. “It was…decent enough, I suppose.” 

“More than decent!”, Iak’sel proclaims. “But I think the one that makes me most excited is seeing you every time on that holo show.”

“Oh yeah, that one’s pretty good”, Shir agrees. “Got a lot of nice action.” 

“Mm, they could tone down some of the rhetoric sometimes, though. They forget that Lord Wrath can be fairly humble too”, Vondilla comments.

In the meantime, the trio themselves all look fairly confused.  
“Hold on”, Vette says. “What do you mean ‘holo show’? What show?”

None of the soldiers expected that question, thinking it should be obvious what they’re talking about, leaving Hod to explain.  
“You haven’t seen it? It’s on once a week, on one of the frequencies that the propaganda channel uses for their broadcasts. It’s starring Lord Wrath!  
Well…it’s fictional, of course. They call it ‘Shadows of the Galaxy – Wrath’s Justice’.”

After that, Eon’Kintel has a few additions to make.  
“It’s funded by the Ministry of Logistics. You’re the hero in it, my lord, defeating the evil Jedi and protecting the Empire.”

Zal looks fairly shocked as they talk about it, practically stunned into silence. Jaesa on the other hand is very intrigued, but it’s Vette who has the most noticeable reaction, similar to Zal, but on the other end. She is absolutely delighted and has the biggest smile they’ve ever seen, her mouth slightly agape.  
“Wait, really? You’re serious?!”, she asks excitedly. “Why the flipping hell have I not heard of this yet?!”

The group seems quite glad to see that one of Zal’s companions approve, and Iak’sel feels it might be important to point something out.  
“My lord, I know you may not have anything to do with the production but, I must tell you that it’s very inspiring to see a twi’lek in a leading role for an imperial show, despite being animated.”

Zal is torn in between trying to be positive and being completely distraught. Logistics? _Vowrawn._ That goddamn, slippery, conniving little sleen. She’s going to have to have a chat with him at some point.  
“Ugh…I think I’m getting a headache. We should probably leave.”

Vette laughs as she says it, obviously enjoying this way too much.  
The soldiers appear somewhat disappointed to hear it, although they may understand her predicament.  
“Uh, before you leave”, Iak’sel says, “would it be possible for us to ask of something else from you, my lord?”

“What is it?”

They glance at each other and as Vondilla is the officer, even if she’s in the navy, everyone allows her to make the request.  
“Well, we…were wondering if you would perhaps agree to take a picture with us, my lord. It would mean a lot to us.”

She lets her gaze sweep across them then, seeing their expectant and hopeful faces. She really doesn’t want to but, can she turn these people down that easily?  
“I…well…fine, I suppose we can take at least one together.”

The group are excited to hear it and immediately begin to line up with her. They have an automated hovering device which can do the trick, meaning that both Vette and Jaesa gets to join in as well. They are Lord Wrath’s associates, after all.  
As it happens, while Zal knows that she really doesn’t enjoy being in public like this, nor is the idea of having ‘fans’ particularly encouraging, she has to admit that she likes to see imperial aliens finding positive roles to be in, escaping the prisons of their past. If she can help in some way and give them hope, she has to try.

Before they walk off, each of them make sure to shake Zal’s hand at least once and then the trio is allowed to leave.  
Vette looks particularly smug when they’re alone again.  
“Wow. You know what? This is probably the best day I’ve ever had. At least in a long time.  
As soon as we get back to the Tempest, I’m grabbing one of the holo projectors and I’m damn well gonna watch every single episode of that show. You’re free to join me, Jae!”

Jaesa smiles gently.  
“I just might. It does sound exciting.”

Zal groans.  
“Vette, please, don’t.”

Vette’s expression does not disappear, but instead widens into a slight grin.  
“You know, maybe whomever is behind this thing will let me help with its production. I could be a writer!”

Zal redirects her eyes to Vette and glares.  
“Too bad, because it’s not going to work. I intend to tear that ministry apart, until they stop airing that abomination.”

Vette laughs, not even slightly convinced.  
“No, you’re not! You’d hate to break the sweet and soft hearts of those kids.”

Realizing the truth of this, Zal sighs heavily, feeling another headache coming.  
“Ugh…I hate you. I hate everyone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, Vette finds this hilarious, especially because Zal hates it._   
>  _Just to make it clear, though, not all of these people were recruited into the military just because Zal was made into the Wrath. People like Vondilla was just one of the very few other species who were allowed to enter the officer academy, due to her very high scores, during a similar time that Zal and Val had entered or finished the Sith academy._
> 
> _Next week, we'll see some more from Ktila._


	53. Whispers of faded beliefs (JK)

For most of the duration of the current conflict which affects a lot of the galaxy, the Shielded Path has been spotted on planets where the war has reached some of the worst stages, in an attempt to aid Republic troops against the forces of the Empire, but this is not always the case. Today, the ship has docked in an unusual place, at least for a vessel that could be deemed pretty important, based on its passengers. 

Hoelten station is a remote mining facility, a spaceport located in an asteroid belt somewhere in a fairly quiet section of the galaxy. The station itself is old and probably hasn’t been renovated in a long time, which can be seen both on the exterior hull and the interior design. That said, it is still in a working condition and despite being fairly noisy, there’s no major signs of malfunctioning.  
To get further into its heart, or at least to where they need to go, Ktila and Kira has had to ride down an elevator together, one that moves a bit too slowly for their tastes and increases the tension which has already been growing.

Ktila looks towards Kira, her arms folded and while she can see the nervousness displayed on the human’s expression, she can feel it much better through their Force bond. Perhaps letting it stay like this is not the preferable conclusion.  
“Hey, how are you feeling?”

Kira turns to meet her gaze for a moment, but hesitates.  
“I dunno.” She sighs briefly. “I guess I’m just not sure what we should do. It seems so strange, you know?  
I mean, how can this be happening right now and seemingly out of nowhere? Just doesn’t feel right.”

While she definitely agrees that it’s unsettling, Ktila thinks it’s probably best not to get all too agitated. She moves up and places a hand on Kira’s shoulder.  
“I understand why you feel like this, but try to relax. Won’t do either of us any good if you get too anxious about it. I’m here for you.”

Part of Kira doesn’t really want to give into any attempts at comfort but, she knows it may still be what she needs right now. This is why she shuts her eyes and takes a few steps closer, resting her head on Ktila’s shoulder while she hugs her friend. At the same time, the chiss wraps an arm around Kira’s back, holding her a bit tighter.  
“I know. Not sure if it’ll make it any better but, thanks for trying.”

“Always.”

When the elevator stops and they step out of it, they are greeted almost immediately by someone waiting. A rather nervous human, dressed in appropriate gear for someone who works in this station, stands there with his arms behind his back, probably trying to seem relaxed, but sort of fails at it.  
He’s got medium brown skin, green eyes and short greying black hair. They can see that he holds a helmet in his hand, probably also part of the uniform they wear here.  
When he spots them, he hesitates at first, but decide to direct his attention to the chiss.

“Greetings. Uh, are you…master Ktila of the Jedi Order?”

She nods.  
“I am”, she says and then gestures towards her side.  
“This is my associate, Jedi Knight Kira Carsen. We are the ones your representatives spoke to over the holocomm. We came as quickly as we could and hope it is not too late.”

“Yeah, I understand, and no, it’s not too late. Or…at least I don't think it is."  
He’s not sure if this is how they do it as well, which is why he seems reluctant when he offers his hand.  
“My name is Gordon Lizen and I’m the foreman here on the station. I’m usually in charge of most mining operations on the ground floor.”

Trying to reassure him, they both shake his hand.  
“A pleasure to meet you, mister Lizen”, says Ktila. Kira stays silent.

Once they’re done with introductions, he gestures for them to follow him, as they move further into the station.  
“We rarely get any visitors outside of the company here and…I have to admit that I’ve never met a Jedi before. Pretty sure most of us haven’t.”

Ktila smiles gently, hopefully in a friendly fashion.  
“Don’t worry, we realize that this must be unusual for you and everyone else. We do not aim to disturb you or any of your workers.”

“Oh uh, it’s not like we were counting on that, but it has definitely gotten a few people on edge. I mean, most of our employees have probably not even seen a Jedi, only heard stories.  
Rumors do spread pretty quickly, though. If you see a lot of people staring at ya, that’s probably why.”

“I cannot speak for anyone else, but personally, I am not disturbed by such notions. It can be fairly common when we arrive at places like this and I do not judge anyone for it.”  
This isn’t entirely true, of course and she doesn’t believe it’s the only reason why people will be watching her. The fact that she’s chiss rarely escapes anyone. That part tends to frustrate her somewhat more than the curiosity of her status, but not enough to actually tell anyone.  
“Can you tell us a bit more of your colleague? The one we are here to meet?”

“Baeleki?”, he asks, and then sighs.  
“Ah, yeah, guess I can. She’s a togruta, born on one of the worlds in the nearby systems. She’s always been pretty decent, hard-working and gets along with most of her co-workers. Baeleki is probably the best when it comes to our mineral sorting equipment.”  
His eyes fall to the floor then, while fidgeting with his helmet.  
“And then, things just went crazy a few days ago.”

Ktila watches him with both interest and caution.  
“Could you tell us of that event in more detail?”

Gordon shrugs and shakes his head in disbelief.  
“Dunno what to say. She was sitting in the dining hall with a couple of others, the usual crowd she’s in, but had been quiet for the most part. And then, she simply erupted. Started kicking and throwing things around the hall with...well, her mind, I guess. She was screaming something fierce too.”  
He breathes in deeply, and slowly exhales.  
“It was bad, at least to watch. A few people got hurt, but only mildly. We’re pretty thankful for that much.”

“And then you took her into custody?”

“Well, not us, but the security officer on duty and her droids.”

Ktila nods in understanding, trying to read the situation from all angles, in an attempt to predict how they’ll approach her. Although, to be honest, Ktila isn’t sure that will increase their success at all, but it’s worth a shot.  
“We realize this must be difficult for you and your team, but trust me when I say that we intend to take care of this. She will not be harming anyone else.”

He does appear to be mildly relieved by it, but there’s still some doubt, probably after what he saw.  
“That’s reassuring at least.  
Is this sort of thing…normal? Or common. Don’t people turn into Jedi when they’re much younger?”

The Jedi Master smiles, realizing that he’s probably basing this belief on rumors. A lot of people tend to do when it comes to Jedi.  
“Well, not quite. You see, people do not ‘turn’ into Jedi at any point. Just like a certain portion of people around the galaxy, we are born with Force sensitivity and the Jedi is one of the organizations who operate on a galactic scale, rather than within specific societies or planets. You are correct that we tend to find them when they are young, though. We discuss the possibilities together with the people responsible for the child, before we invite them into our Order.”

“Oh, right, sorry. Is this what you’re doing with Baeleki then? I mean, she’s still not a kid.”

Ktila shakes her head.  
“No, that is not our intention. Not quite, anyhow. This entire endeavor is somewhat more unusual, but it has nothing specific to do with being a Jedi.”

This implication makes him seem a little bit more unsure.  
“No? Uh, what is it then? Does this have something to do with…the Sith? Is she a Sith?”

She chuckles.  
“That is not quite true either, but unfortunately, I cannot discuss the details. At any rate, there is no need to worry, mister Lizen. It is best if you simply leave this matter to us and we shall take care of it without the rest of you being bothered.”

Both from what she can see on his expression and feel from his emotions, he’s very doubtful, but it’s hard to tell if it’s due to mistrusting her or being generally pessimistic of their chances. Regardless, he chooses to do as he’s told and simply follow along with the plan.  
Eventually, they’re led past a secured door and into the small prison here on the station. It’s difficult to call it by that classification however, as it’s more of a small holding cell area, meant to be very temporary.  
Gordon leads them up to the correct door and they notice that it’s the only active one at this time. 

“Here we are. She’s in there”, he says and motions with his thumb at a pretty heavy grey steel door.

Ktila nods and places her hands behind her back.  
“Thank you, mister Lizen. Now, if you don’t mind, I ask that you leave us alone with her while we talk. It will likely improve this scenario if no one else disturbs us during it.”

He raises his hands into the air.  
“Hey, you’ll get no argument from me. Good luck, I guess, if your kind believes in that.”

After that, they are left with just the two of them and Ktila turns to Kira. Before they step inside, she has to make sure that her companion is on the same page.  
She steps closer to Kira and lowers her voice.  
“You ready for this?”

Kira raises her eyes, looking into Ktila’s red ones searchingly, before she sighs and shakes her head.  
“I dunno. Probably not. Still don’t know for sure if I even want to do this.”

Ktila is sympathetic to why she would feel this way. It’s difficult to know how severe that this…condition has affected Baeleki and Kira likely don’t want to have to kill her.  
The chiss raises a hand and gently rubs Kira’s shoulder.  
“You want me to take point? Make sure that we don’t get into any immediate problems?”

Kira nibbles at her lower lip in thought for a moment and then nods curtly.  
“Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”

Redirecting her attention to the door again, Ktila looks at it and utilizes the keycard they were offered by the security officer earlier. As it slowly slides open, Ktila takes a step forward, not to all too far in, but to make sure that she sees all of the interior. It’s not like this requires much effort though, as the cell is no bigger than one of their cabins back on the Shielded Path, only having a small bed, a toilet and a metal table nailed to the floor.  
The person she’s looking for is sitting curled up on the bed. She has fairly large montrals in maroon and white colors, with the lekkus currently moving around to embrace her. Her complexion is violet and her face is adorned with a few white markings. She’s wearing a simple outfit, with a green shirt and black pants. From the way she’s hugging her own knees, she’s definitely not in a good state.

“Miss Baeleki?”, Ktila asks carefully.

“Go away”, the togruta responds in a fairly meagre voice. She’s likely not in any mood to talk, but not enraged enough to shove them away.

“Hello there, Baeleki. My name is Ktila and I am from the Jedi Order. I also have another Jedi with me, called Kira. We wanted to talk to you.”

“I said, go away”, she repeats, this time a little bit louder.

Even if they can clearly sense the Force within this woman, it’s also apparent that she doesn’t have much control of it. The fear and unbridled anger hiding beneath the surface is blatant to both Jedi.  
“We know this is not easy for you, and what you’re going through now must be difficult, but we promise that-“

“Did you not hear me?!”, she suddenly screams.  
“I said, _GO AWAY!_ If you don’t, I…I’ll hurt you! I have Jedi powers! You will regret this!”

Kira rolls her eyes, but Ktila merely feels sorry for her, that she has to react in this fashion and the chiss doesn’t blame her.  
“Listen to me, Baeleki, you do not have to suffer with this alone. We can help you. Kira and I are Jedi, and the Force is something we understand how to deal with. You only have to allow us to enter.”

They could do so anyway, but Ktila isn’t about to force herself in.  
“No! I refuse!”  
Baeleki slides around on the bed and turns her head away from the entrance.  
“I don’t trust you or anyone. Leave me be.”

At least she hasn’t tried to actually attack them yet, which is a good sign.  
“We are not just here in our capacity as Jedi, because we know more of what you are going through on a very personal level. We have suffered in a similar fashion and we realize that you must be confused. Let us in and we will try to explain.”

Baeleki snorts and shakes her head.  
“You think you know what this is like? You don’t. You have no idea. Just because you’re Jedi, you can’t know what I feel when…when I hear these things.”  
Her voice is shaky as she sighs.  
“Just go, please. I can’t…deal with this when you are here.”

“Even if we leave, it is unlikely that you can handle it at all, because you have yet to comprehend what it means.”

Ktila will admit that she’s not exactly a counselor, nor has she been much involved with the recruitment of young Jedi and therefore haven’t seen what this process might entail. Makes it more difficult for her to know how to deal with someone in Baeleki’s situation.  
That’s when Kira decides to interfere.  
“It’s the voices, right? Yeah, we know of them as well. We know them because some of us hear them too. You’re not alone.”

The togruta appears mildly surprised by her words, calming down somewhat, but she’s still nervous.  
“You’re…you’re just saying that.”

“Am I? How would I have found out about ‘em, unless I already hear the same crap?”  
Kira sighs heavily.  
“You hear the whispers, right? They threaten, degrade and try to command you, all at the same time.”

Again, a moment of silence as she attempts to read her own thoughts, to find some kind of certainty in whether Kira is truthful or not.  
“Is this…some kind of trick? What do you want from me?”

“We only wanna talk, like Ktila said, because she thinks we can help you. I mean, I do too, because I know what his harassment is like. Our…father.” 

This appears to have been the final sign of trust for Baeleki and her defenses falter completely.  
“Okay. You…you may both come in.”  
Doing as she tells them, they enter and lets the door shut behind them. The closer they get, the better they see how her blue eyes are bloodshot, although it’s hard to tell if it’s due to what she has endured or some kind of lack of sleep.  
After eyeing Kira for a few seconds, she nods.  
“Alright, you’re telling the truth. I…I know that now.”

“Heh, glad to see you were willing to take some risks.”

“However…”  
She stops, examining Ktila as well and the chiss almost feels as if Baeleki manages to see through her, which seems strange due to the fact that this togruta has not known of her Force sensitivity until very recently and therefore shouldn’t be able to control it well enough to perform such tasks. Perhaps it’s merely an instinct.  
“You have heard the voices as well? I see it on your face and in your eyes.”

Ktila exhales briefly.  
“I do, occasionally, but not in the same fashion as you or Kira. I have not been injected in the way that either of you were. Instead, I have merely been…close.” 

Baeleki nods, continuing to hug her knees, but one of her lekkus slowly runs up and down over one of her arms.  
“So, what did you want to talk about?”

Ktila and Kira wanders over to her, carefully, trying to take one side of her each, but not being hasty about it. Kira remains standing, while Ktila kneels down next to her bed, looking up to share a gaze with her.  
“We want to discuss the voices and the entity to which they belong.”

Not a topic she seems eager to mention, which is shown in the way she grimaces.  
“Do we have to?”

“We understand you may not want to, but it is rather important. If we don’t talk about them at all, we won’t be able to solve this issue. And we do believe that solving it can be done. That might seem implausible to you, but as Jedi, we are used to dealing with unusual scenarios.”

She still hesitates, but chooses to glance between them for a moment, perhaps evaluating them once more.  
“I really don’t want to and I hate what is happening right now. I feel so lost and broken somehow, but the two of you…you understand. I feel more comfortable around you. I’ll answer your questions.”

Ktila smiles, trying to display how pleased she is that they can comprehend one another.  
“Thank you, Baeleki.  
For the most part, we only want to hear what you know so far.”

“About what?”

“What you’re going through, what you hear and see.”

An easy question with a difficult response, something displayed on her face.  
“I’m…not sure I know anything so far. It’s all so confusing.”  
She raises one of her hands and motions at her head.  
“I get…whispers, images, headaches and everything is so blurry. What’s real and what’s fake? I can’t always tell.  
Sometimes, things just appear and it hurts me, like, as if it was really happening, but when the others come to check on me, there’s nothing in my body.”

Ktila inclines her head, resting her hand on the bed, just in case Baeleki wants some support.  
“That is to be expected. These things are not something you usually would have to go through, but it is not your fault.”

“I guess not, but it’s so strange and worrying.”  
She moves a hand towards one of her lekkus, running her fingers over it.  
“Sometimes, I feel like I’m me, but I’m not me. Like…I shouldn’t be who I am.”  
She groans.  
“I’m not even sure what I mean by that.”

“But we do”, Ktila reassures her.  
“Everything you know is unfortunately not the way you may have initially believed.”

“What?”

She lifts one of her hands to stop any further questions.  
“We will get to it, but we should probably take it slow. There’s a lot for you to take in and too much may break you. It is best if we first hear more of what your experience has been so far.”  
Baeleki still seems to trust them and therefore nods to let Ktila continue.  
“The voices that whisper to you, what do they say? How do they act in your mind?”

It seems getting into specifics makes her uncomfortable and she hesitates, wanting to tell them, but also not wanting to think of the horrors that plague her. If she does, they might return and she’s uneasy enough as it is.  
In an attempt to soothe her, Kira walks closer, sitting down on the bed next to her and puts a hand on top of Baeleki’s.  
“I’m here for you, Baeleki”, Kira tells her.

The togruta turns to look into her eyes, and they stare at each other for several seconds. For some reason, this gives her strength enough to proceed, as she squeezes Kira’s hand.  
“Most of the time, they’re angry, disappointed about what has happened. But that’s not the only thing though, as they are also…expectant somehow.”

“They’re expecting something to happen?”, Ktila asks.

“Yes. Something is coming, but I’m not sure what. The time to act, I think. The time for rebirth of blood and soil. They want me to prepare in some way, but I don’t know how or why.  
The messages, they’re unfortunately very difficult to interpret. Sometimes they mention words or terms I’ve never even heard, or they speak in a language I don’t understand.”

It’s not like this is news to either of them. They have suspected that he – the Emperor – would still be alive in some capacity, but have received very little useful news. From what Baeleki appears to have received though, he’s clearly in a weakened state.  
“It’s…unfortunate that what you have heard is so vague”, Ktila admits, somewhat disappointed.  
“But don’t worry, we don’t blame you for this. Your predicament is definitely a complex situation, which we will not blame you for.  
I think that is all we have to ask though, at least to begin with. Thank you, Baeleki.”

The togruta nods, seeming exhausted and relieved at the same time. She does not yet let go of Kira, though.  
The knight glances at Ktila, searching for her thoughts.  
“So, where do we go from here?”

Ktila raises a hand to rub at her chin.  
“I don’t know just yet, but I have a feeling we may have to make our own preparations. We have to be ready for when this inevitably erupts. Obviously, this might clash with what the Order wants, but not sure that I really care at this point.”

Kira chuckles, amused by Ktila’s increased resistance to what is expected of her.  
“Well, maybe we don’t have to tell them immediately. It’s not like watching us is among their top priorities right now.”

“True enough, I suppose. We’ll stay silent for now.” 

However, before they can do anything else, Baeleki’s own exhaustion has descended upon her, to the degree that she now practically collapses and she leans further against Kira.  
“I am so tired. My body, my mind, my heart…I don’t know what to do.” 

She pushes herself against Kira, practically hugging her in a somewhat needy fashion. Kira can feel how she shivers as well.  
“Well, erm…we could do something for you, I guess”, Kira says, but looks to Ktila for directions.

The chiss crosses her arms and examines Baeleki. By the impression they receive from her mind and the look of her current physical state, they definitely cannot just leave her here, but what would be the appropriate route to take?  
“We could drop her off with the Republic, I suppose, and let them take care of her. Going to the Jedi is obviously an option as well, but I wonder if they can do what’s necessary. This is not an ordinary situation, due to what she has been through.”

Kira looks at the other woman, her kin among the Emperor’s Children. Baeleki lies with her head against Kira’s shoulder and for some reason, the knight gets the sense that the togruta hasn’t felt such safety in a long time. As if out of nowhere, it fills her with an overwhelmingly protective sensation and it shows itself physically, by Kira wrapping an arm around her waist.  
“I dunno which would be best either, but…I want to be there. I want to help her personally.”

“Are you sure?”

Kira nods sharply.  
“I can’t just leave her like this. She’s…family, in a way.”

They haven’t met many of the Children of the Emperor thus far, and with most of the prior encounters not ending all too well, except possibly the one with master Syo, this particular reaction is surprising to Ktila. That said, it’s certainly a sentiment she can accept.  
“Very well. We’ll do everything we can for her, Kira.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _On Saturday, we'll head back to Reezah and Elara._


	54. Simmering ties (Tr)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Reezah/Elara is the content that no one asks for, but I write it anyway. IT'S FOR ME, OKAY? THIS ONE'S FOR ME_

Since the short break on Coruscant, Havoc squad has had to move back into the action, although they relocated to different systems than they had been stationed on previously, who were in dire need of aid. Reezah wasn’t certain whether it was done on purpose to prove a point or not, but they were reassigned to a place where not a lot of fighting is happening at the moment and where the denizens require aid in other ways. This mostly includes strategic, medical and defensive consulting, something they can obviously provide, but not quite as instantly meaningful as trying to infiltrate an imperial base or take down a Sith. 

Elara has tried to keep herself especially busy during this time, not only because it is requested, but also due to certain personal reasons.  
Currently, she has gotten back into the Meteor and is wandering towards her and Reezah’s joint bedroom, after hours of having given medical aid, support, advice and written reports on the progress.  
Things have sort of gone back to normal between the two, but not entirely. There’s certain vague notions of tension in the air, which has been difficult to evaporate. It’s almost as if instead of trying to face it, they’ve mutually ignored it between them, but within, they both sense that something is slightly off. Elara feels like she wants to act on it, try to confront the issue properly, but hesitates or doesn’t have the energy. 

As she enters the cabin now, she’s met by a surprisingly lovely scent, which immediately gets her attention. She was looking at her datapad during the whole way here, but her eyes are directed towards the area she supposes is the origin for it.  
“Wait!”, she hears someone calling out, and sees how Reezah is standing in a slightly unusual outfit, while attempting to block something on the other side.  
“Don’t come in just yet. I’m putting on the finishing touches. Gimme a moment.”

Elara arches a curious brow, but she does as she’s told, putting the datapad down on a shelf nearby and folds her arms.  
Eventually, Reezah is done and she closes the distance to her girlfriend. Along the way, she takes off the apron she was wearing and reveals the sleeveless violet blouse and long white skirt with blue stripes beneath. Elara’s expression becomes mildly amused instead.  
“What’s going on?”

It’s not like Reezah is extremely dressed up, but it’s still a bit classier than what she’s usually in. She smiles and offers a hand to Elara.  
“Come, let me show you.”

Elara is far too intrigued to hesitate, taking the offered hand and lets herself be guided inside. In the middle of their cabin stands a table with a black tablecloth, having several bowls and plates on top, as well as a bottle which she assumes contain alcohol. In the center of this, there’s a few lit candles and a small holographic projector, displaying a rotating orb of some kind of planet, probably made for decoration. 

Elara is both delighted and confused.  
“What is all this?”

Reezah smiles.  
“It’s one of my favorite dishes – sunray steak, shintkal salad and a special Hiktesh sauce.  
Well...the steak is actually from nerf meat, but it’s supposed to be bormu meat. Unfortunately, the last war wiped most of that species out and getting anything from them now is practically impossible. Nerf isn’t a bad replacement, though.”

The very notion that she would’ve done something like this makes Elara even more surprised.  
“Did you…actually cook this yourself?”

“I did indeed!”, the Major says quite proudly. “Wasn’t really that hard, though. It’s one of my grandma’s recipes, especially the sauce, hence the name.”

“Your grandmother?”

“Yeah, my paternal grandma is one of the few people of my family who we’ve still got around. She’s pretty old now, though and lives on one of the colony worlds.”  
Reezah snorts with a wistful look on her face as she shakes her head.  
“Me and my brothers used to eat a lot of her food, as cooking was probably her foremost skill. If we weren’t doing what she told us to, being deprived of a particular dish for a while was a pretty decent threat. This one’s definitely my favorite, although I doubt I’ve been able to prepare it as amazing as she can.”

It’s rare that Elara gets to hear more details of Reezah’s family, due to certain painful memories, so she’s glad to listen as much as she can. That said, she still doesn’t get the reason.  
“What is this about, dear? Why did you suddenly decide to make something this special?”

Reezah turns her light blue eyes towards Elara, hesitating and it shows in the way her expression turns somewhat guilty.  
“Well, I…you know, wanted to make things right, I guess.”  
She takes a deep a breath, gaze diverted to the table before she continues.  
“Last time we did something together it wasn’t really what either of us had hoped, nor what I expected. It was bad because of me. It became…awkward and I was harsher than I meant to be. I shouted some things which I regretted later on, but I didn’t quite know what to do about it.  
I mean, I could’ve said ‘sorry’, but that just didn’t feel enough. Seemed kinda meagre and pointless, you know? I felt like you deserved better and wanted to present you with a gesture I think would suit you more.”  
She clears her throat a bit awkwardly.  
“Well…not like making food is a grand gesture either, of course, but it means I at least put in some effort in trying to apologize.”

By now, she has started to ramble a little bit, but Elara doesn’t mind. She smiles and takes a step closer to the Major, putting a hand on Reezah’s chest and letting the other embrace one of her lekkus, which twitches delightfully at the touch. They both lean forward and meet halfway, their lips interacting in a sweet and extensive kiss. Showing her own satisfaction with the move, Reezah wraps her arms around Elara’s waist and holds her close for the entire duration.

When the kiss ends, the Captain’s eyes still watches Reezah fondly and she raises a hand to run two fingers slowly along the togruta’s jaw.  
“You are a fool sometimes, but I like that.”

“Heh. Well, mostly when you’re around.”

Elara smirks and shakes her head, before her eyes drift downwards, viewing Reezah’s body and then her own. She's still in uniform.  
“I do feel as if I’m woefully undressed in comparison, though. I hadn’t prepared myself for a fancy dinner! If you had told me beforehand, I could’ve found something more appropriate.” 

Reezah chuckles.  
“Oh c’mon, you don’t need anything like that. It’s not like this is particularly fancy or expensive and it’s just the two of us anyway.  
Besides, aren’t you always gorgeous no matter what you wear? Or is that just my reaction?”

Elara can’t help but giggle, while leaning towards her and poking her nose playfully.  
“You’re ridiculous.”

She then wanders around to the opposite side of the table, wanting to take the seat here instead and moves to sit down. Just as she does, Reezah tries to approach the chair as well.  
“Oh wait, lemme just-“

“No!”, Elara calls out, with one finger raised and smile on her lips.  
“That is not necessary. You have already done more than enough and I’m not going to let you take every chivalrous opportunity.”

Reezah looks amused, even if she’s not entirely satisfied with that notion.  
“Alright, fine”, she says while stepping back, having to admit that Elara should get what she wants. That is why the Major prepared this entire event, after all.  
When she gets to her own seat, she opens up the wine bottle and starts pouring some up in their glasses.  
“Not gonna stop me from doing this for you, though.”

There’s no need to do so anyhow and Elara takes the glass once there’s sufficient amount of liquid in it and they put their glasses up together in a quick toast, before drinking some of it. For a short while, they choose to sit in silence and simply enjoy the meal, as well as washing it down with the wine.  
Interestingly enough, Elara looks fairly distant at first, becoming quite mesmerized with the taste. Reezah is uncertain whether this is due to her not cooking it well enough or if there's another reason, but she doesn’t dare to ask.  
Eventually, Elara offers her opinion, although not so much to calm her girlfriend down. She shakes her head swiftly, as if getting herself out of a trance.

“Well, that was…strange.”

Reezah clears her throat again, trying to appear unperturbed.  
“What was?”

“I received this weird sensation when I was eating just now, along with a flashback, something I haven’t thought of in a long while.”

The Major doesn’t immediately reveal her expectations on this, but instead views her girlfriend with curiosity.  
“Are you okay?”

Elara offers a smile and inclines her head.  
“I’m fine, just…didn’t expect that. Your food gave me a certain recollection, you could say, something one might call a lost memory. Or at least it was for me.” 

“Oh? What was it about?”

She breathes in slowly through her nose, eating another small bit of the food, especially the meat and the vegetables together.  
“I think I’ve had a similar meal at one point, years ago. It was one that me and my family had together when we were on a holiday.  
It was away from Dromund Kaas, on one of the imperial colonies.” She stops herself to snort briefly. “We didn’t have many of those. My father never really had time for them and mother didn’t care much for that section of imperial space. However, me and Aleksei had insisted, due to the fact that we were both tired of always visiting the same places every year. This was the one time we managed to convince them to go, by complaining about it incessantly.”  
She gains a wistful expression of her own, shaking her head at the thought of such joy from her past.  
“It was one of the few occasions where I felt fully relaxed in the presence of my parents, not having to live up to any expectations or act in a specific way in front of strangers, as it was only the four of us.”

Reezah displays a smile of her own.  
“Sounds like a pretty great time to me.”

“It was and I had nearly forgotten, until just now.”  
She looks down into her food again, probably letting more of the few images from that memory flow through her.  
“It’s odd. I hadn’t thought of those days since…probably before my doubts about the military began. I suppose I might’ve suppressed it and let my mind focus on the thoughts which would drive me to the Republic and prevent any hesitation.”

“Well, it’s definitely fascinating, although it’s not quite as strange as you might think. I somehow sense that it’s probably tied to this dish.” 

Elara forcefully pulls herself from these thoughts and tries to concentrate on her girlfriend, obviously curious of what conclusions she might draw.  
“How so?”

“I don’t know if you’ve eaten this dish before, as it’s not exactly like a widespread recipe or anything, but my grandma’s food has always been…special. I’ll try to explain.”  
She pours up some more wine for them and gets some more of the sauce for her plate.  
“One of the more famous traditions of togruta culture back on Shili has been communal storytelling. Those were often engaged in during larger events and gatherings, which can even be seen today.  
A lot of my species’ societies, which has popped up around the galaxy since many of us left our initial homeworld, has tried to sort of emulate those events, even though you can’t really say that it’s replicated in a very accurate way. I mean, that was ages ago and traditions, especially oral ones such as these, tend to change a lot and even though some might pretend it’s the same thing, it’s very clearly not.”

She stops for a moment, seemingly getting a flashback of her own which makes her laugh, but when Elara looks at her questioningly, she merely shakes her head and continues.  
“Anyway, my grandma was a very traditional woman and she liked that aspect, especially when the closest city to our home used to have togruta-themed events, which she tried to involve herself with. However, she had a slightly different view on those traditions.  
She believed, and still do, that food could tell a story of their own, which is why cooking is a way to be a storyteller. You can convey emotions, thoughts and opinions by sharing a meal together, something which she often did. Sometimes she expected us to speak our minds when she had created a new recipe or made a slight alteration of one. Afterwards, there was a fifty-fifty chance she’d tell you the truth.”

Elara’s expression at this time is one of fascination, clearly inspired by the unexpected explanation for what could have possible happened to her.  
“That is a very intriguing view, one I had never considered before. Your grandmother may have a point.”  
She moves her fork through her food for a bit, wanting to taste more, but having things to say as well.  
“It makes me wonder what you tried to relay to me, not only due to what might have been your intention, but the fact that it made me recall a part of my past I had overlooked.”

Luckily, Reezah is not her grandmother and is obviously glad to expand on the purpose.  
“Well, the whole memory thing was most likely a happy coincidence, but I did hope you’d notice somehow.  
As you might’ve guessed, this dish is obviously important to me, because of what it has meant for most of my life and I would only ever cook it for someone who I believe deserve it. Guess it’s my way to show how much that person matters.  
A lot of preparations and such is required for this, even some special ingredients. I would never go through all that effort if I believed it would’ve been wasted.”

The smile Elara displays now is much warmer than previously and she moves her hand on top of Reezah’s, enveloping it and uses her thumb to caress the back of it.  
“I will not forgive you for what happened before, because I do not believe anything needs to be forgiven.  
Having been together for as long as we have now, it’s inevitable that we would get into a difficult fight at some point and there likely will be more. Despite such disagreements, we are still on the same side, sharing the same thoughts and beliefs, and getting past disputes, accepting them as our reality, is an important aspect to me.  
I will do anything for you, Reezah and I strongly believe that you would do the very same thing for me. Some bickering will not get between us, but I do obviously appreciate that you went through all this effort. It matters to me as well.”

Reezah appears very glad to hear it and she raises Elara’s hand to kiss the back of it.  
“This is why you’re the best.” 

Elara laughs briefly and both of them feel how the previous tension which had surrounded them starts to disperse.  
“I would offer to cook for you some day as well, darling, but I have to admit that it’s not exactly my specialty.” 

“Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of suggestions if you really wanna return the favor.”  
A fact that Elara certainly doesn’t doubt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _On Wednesday next week, we're gonna go back to Iron'zeranz, but also meet another of my class character. It's a dual character chapter! Aren't you all super excited /s_


	55. Fragmented directions (JC + Sm)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I've made some slight changes to Iron'zeranz's appearance, which you can see on the[Swtor character page](https://creativebankruptcy.tumblr.com/swtor) on one of my blogs. It's why I've chosen to describe her here in this chapter as well, which I don't think I've done for any Iron specific chapters thus far._   
>  _I also talked about it[here](https://creativebankruptcy.tumblr.com/post/164418724440/im-not-sure-if-itll-be-noticeable-for-anyone-who). Shameless promotion for one of my blogs, hurraaaaaay_

Port Zodric, despite its neutral status, is a station that has seen more activity from parties involved in the Republic and Empire war than it would normally be comfortable with. It may not have an astounding reputation to begin with, due to all the syndicates, gangs and other dubious groups which tends to associate itself with it, but that was probably why the owner of the station hoped those two factions would be deterred from wishing to look closer, as to not get involved with more difficult situations.

Most of the corridors in this facility are often rather crowded, and that goes double for the business and market sectors. In the former is where most of the trade between important factions who have a presence here occurs and the latter is the place where most purchases are made from private individuals, sold by one of the many vendors or shops on the station.  
Due to wanting to give access for buyers to actually get what they pay for, there are facilities in between those sectors dedicated to storage rooms of various sizes. Some of the more prestigious sellers, especially those who trade with other factions, tend not to keep anything in this station, out of a lack of trust in its security capabilities, but most others utilize what space they can get. This has created more job opportunities and it is therefore very crowded around the warehouses and hangars, even during late parts of what counts as a day here.

Most people who work within the storage district tend to keep to themselves or at least to those of the same shop or faction, which is why people who go in between might be able to wander around ignored. That is certainly true for two individuals who stand in a corner not all too far from a specific room.  
Both are women, but neither are human, although at least being near-human. The slightly older of the two has medium brown skin, dark blonde hair in a high ponytail, while being dressed in robes of black, brown and grey colors. The younger and shorter one has pale complexion, grey hair in a bob cut, wearing beige and somewhat more open robes. The starkest difference between them however, is seen on their faces. The former has a lack of human-like eyes, as that section is instead covered by a purple piece of cloth, while the latter has dark blue facial markings, ones typical for her people’s culture.

Iron’zeranz and Nadia has been wandering through Port Zodric for the past few days, in an attempt to find clues regarding the culprits who stole copies of the superweapon documents from the Republic, and which these two were among those who failed to capture their targets on a distant world. Iron has wanted to make up for this mistake, but it has been difficult to get an opportunity, due to how slippery their enemy tends to be.  
They are not alone on the station however, as the rest of the team are investigating other areas, with none of them currently being nearby. 

Because they’ve managed to find one interesting piece of information, which might lead them closer to the truth, Iron and Nadia has for the past hour or two been watching the locked door to one of the storage facilities in this section. Their hope is that they’ll be able to speak with either the owners or one of those who works here at the very least, but so far, it has been rather empty. Technically, Iron does have the mental strength to simply break open the door, but she’s afraid that this would tip off the ones responsible and they might flee before she can capture them. That’s why everything needs to be handled patiently and discreetly. 

Thankfully, they do not have to wait the entire day, as they are in luck when they spot three individuals walking up to the door and then moves inside, discussing some kind of unknown topic along the way. Iron decides that it’s time to seize the opportunity, gestures with her head for Nadia to see and then pursues their targets together.  
The door appears to open automatically once it’s unlocked, which is what happens when they stop right in front of it. Within, they spot a rather curious group, increasing Iron’s suspicion even further. It’s a twi’lek, a pureblooded Sith and a human. 

It’s the twi’lek who addresses her first, a blue-skinned woman with black tattoos over her face and lekkus.  
“Uh, hello?”

Iron’s face moves only a few inches when trying to assess each of the three within a few seconds, before focusing on the twi’lek. She makes sure that the doors behind them are closed prior to saying anything.  
“Are you the ones who own this facility?”

“Yeah, that’s right. What about it?”  
Barely a moment goes by before a yellow light flares up and gets aimed at the twi’lek’s chest.  
“Whoa. That’s a lightsaber!”

In reaction to this, almost at the same time, the Sith unsheathes her own dual-bladed lightsaber, this one in red, while the human draws a blaster pistol.  
“Drop the weapon, Jedi”, the human says. 

“Or don’t. Might be more fun that way”, comments the Sith.

Nadia frowns and swiftly moves to support her master. Even if they’re outnumbered, they are still Jedi, which gives them an advantage. Nadia can’t go very far from where she started, though, due to the human’s pistol being aimed at her.  
Most of Iron’s attention is focused on the Sith, feeling rather skeptical at seeing her.  
“Is the Empire involved with this issue after all? I was uncertain.”

The Sith doesn’t reveal much, but the twi’lek in the center, her arms currently being raised in surrender, arches her brow confusedly.  
“Sorry, what? Involved? What are you talking about?”

Iron does not want to reveal all too much and therefore tries to proceed cautiously.  
“As you have already surmised, I am a member of the Jedi Order and have come here on official Republic business. You are in possession of something important, crucial in fact, which belongs to the Republic. I demand that you allow me access to your inventory, so that I may reclaim what was stolen.”

The more she speaks, the further perplexed the twi’lek seems to become.  
“Are we?”  
She shifts her attention to the human.  
“We didn’t take anything special last time, did we?”

In return, the human simply sighs.  
“Bery…dammit.” 

A very odd group indeed. She will have to try to be more forceful.  
“I want to hear your identities and purpose at this time, or else I will be forced to arrest all three of you.”

That appears to amuse the Sith, who smirks at her.  
“Ohh, that sounds amusing. I believe I might enjoy seeing you try that.”

“Please, Lenorr, let’s not anger the _two_ Jedi, shall we?”, the human insists. “I know how you tend to fight and I believe we’d prefer not to have all too much collateral damage in here.”  
The Sith rolls her eyes and sighs disappointedly. Afterwards, the human addresses Iron.  
“My name is Risha. I work for the pretty, but kinda dense twi’lek next to me.”

It appears she doesn’t enjoy this description, and frowns towards Risha.  
“Hey, fuck you! I was just asking a question.”  
She shakes her head and looks at Iron.  
“Yeah, I’m Bery. The hot Sith to my side is Lenorr.”

It’s hard for the three to tell where Iron is looking, due to the lack of visible eyes, but she hopes that helps to deter them from struggling.  
“You are in charge?”

“That’s right. Although, guess you can’t always tell with how much lip everyone gives me…”

Risha snorts.  
“Don’t even try it, Shodem. You encourage it too much to deny it now.”

“Do not!  
Anyway, what was it you wanted, Jedi lady? What’re you after inside our little storage room?”

It’s hard to call the room ‘little’ as it’s still a fairly sizeable hangar, even if it doesn’t have all too many things inside just yet.  
“I am not at liberty to say at this point, not until I have you all under control.”

“…under control?”

Risha frowns.  
“Well, that’s a shame, because we won’t be going with you. Not as easily as you hope, at any rate”, she says, while gripping her gun a bit harder.

Lenorr’s previous smirk grows into a grin.  
“That’s better, Risha. The only way to deal with a Jedi is to bare your fangs.”

Nadia takes another step closer, but not towards the human. Instead, she concentrates on Lenorr and glares back at her.  
“Leave the Sith to me, master. I’ll take care of her while you bring down the other two.”

Lenorr turns towards the shorter woman, at first arching one of her brow ridges, before she chuckles.  
“You wish to fight with me, do you? That’s amusing. I wonder how long someone this small will last.”

“I may be small, but I’m tougher than I look”, Nadia says with confidence.

That appears to please Lenorr, whose grin grows fiercer.  
“You’ve got a fire inside of you, hmm? That’s good. I believe I might enjoy this.”

Despite how hostile her two companions are getting, Bery merely sighs.  
“Look, can you two just back the fuck up and relax?”  
She shifts her gaze to Iron.  
“I thought you Jedi preferred to solve things peacefully? If you tell us what the hell is going on, we might be able to cooperate.”

Iron inclines her head slightly.  
“It is true that we usually prefer it, but sometimes the situation requires a more direct approach. Not everyone agrees, but it is the way I deem as more appropriate.”

“…right. Well, I don’t know what it is you’re after, but if it’s so important that the Reps send a Jedi to pull her weapon in my face immediately, there must be some kind of mistake. I can’t recall ever taking anything this valuable from you people.  
So, since I’m willing to do this without a fight, maybe you can show the same and help me out here? Like, telling me your name, for example.”

Iron remains skeptical for a few moments, not wishing to trust anyone out here, but she can’t sense any immediate deception from this woman. She exhales briefly, gets out of her battle stance and lowers her weapon. She doesn’t shut it off just yet, however.  
“Very well. My name is Iron’zeranz.”

Bery lowers one hand, but let’s the other remain raised, using it to scratch her own cheek.  
“Huh. Never heard of ya.”

“But I have”, Risha remarks. “Aren’t you from the Jedi Council?”

Iron doesn’t seem all too eager to agree, but there’s no point in hiding the truth if they already suspect something.  
“I am, yes.”

“Hmm, if that’s the case, maybe we can provide some information that might help to calm things down.”  
She lowers her gun.  
“We’re friends with someone you know, or at least we believe you do. You know master Ktila, right? The chiss Jedi?”

They know Ktila? Somehow, Iron finds that fairly unbelievable. Why would Ktila associate with criminals? Or what appears to be, anyway.  
“You are friends with her? That sounds rather doubtful. Do you have proof of this affiliation?”

“Well, sort of. You know of her girlfriend, right? The Sith Lord Zal’riva? Or Wrath…or whatever she calls herself now.”

Bery widen her eyes.  
“Risha, what the hell?! We weren’t supposed to-“

She’s immediately silenced by Risha putting a few fingers on her mouth.  
“Be quiet and trust me for a second, will you?”

Bery rolls her eyes, annoyed that Risha apparently has another thing she knows but haven’t yet told her Captain of. This obviously gets Iron’s attention even further. She takes a step back and disables her lightsaber.  
“You know of her affection for Lord Wrath? How is that possible? It is a secret even to most in the Order.”

It’s hard to miss how the human gets a little bit smug while she shrugs nonchalantly.  
“Oh, you know, we make connections here and there. Might’ve helped them out once or twice.”

Iron takes a few seconds to study Risha, both from inside and the outside.  
“I see. It appears you are telling the truth”, she says and calms down even further.  
“But if that is the case, then there is still a possibility that you are the ones we have been searching for. You may have tricked Ktila.”

Bery grabs Risha’s hand and pulls it down, allowing her to speak again.  
“Look, you don’t have to worry. We’re not enemies of the Republic. In fact, we used to work for them.”

“Used to?”

“Well…yeah. Things have changed a little since those days, but that doesn’t mean we’re enemies.  
The name’s Bery Eka’Shodem, Captain of the Hypertrail. I used to have a private contract with the Reps several months ago, but I’ve gone back to freelancing since then. My crew and I are kinda in between factions, doing business with both.”

Iron thinks it over and she does remember some rumors about privateers that associating with the Republic, fighting against underground elements that the Empire has recruited.  
Shortly after, she turns and motions at Lenorr.  
“Is that what this is? Business?”

Bery snorts amusedly.  
“Nah, that’s something different. She’s not with the Empire.”

“A pureblood who is not with the Empire? That sounds very implausible.”

Lenorr frowns at her.  
“I do not appreciate such generalizations of my people, Jedi.” She hesitates for a moment and sighs briefly. “…but it is true that I do not harbor hostile emotions for my old home.  
That said, I am no longer associated with the Empire. I…work for her”, she explains, while pointing her thumb at Bery.

“You work for a smuggler?”

Bery seems very pleased with this conclusion and smirks.  
“Oh yes, she works for me. She works _very hard_ too.”

The Sith glares at her companion.  
“Captain…”

In return, Bery winks at her, making Lenorr roll her eyes. It is a bit silly to consider, but Iron actually starts to feel calmer with the way they interact. They may be staging all this, of course, but there aren’t any obvious notions of dishonesty.  
“It would be an unusual coincidence for this to occur so conveniently, but I am still not entirely convinced. I might be able to accept what I have been told, if you would be willing to answer a few questions I have for you, Captain Shodem. You would have to relinquish all of your weapons during it, of course.”

Bery gives her two companions a quick glance and none of them see any alternative. She shrugs, practically in defeat.  
“Alright, guess we’ve got no other choice. It’s not like I managed to pull anything out anyway. C’mon, let’s relocate to the table over there.”

She moves towards it and starts to grab some of her weapons, but Iron seizes her wrists to stop her.  
“There is no need. I will be disarming you myself.”

The Captain arches her brow and then chuckles.  
“A little bit handsy, huh? I don’t mind, go right ahead.”

Iron attempts to concentrate on her task of removing any guns, blades and other hidden weapons, but also has to keep her attention towards the Sith who walks nearby. She keeps watching the Jedi, making sure that Iron does nothing bad to her Captain. Her mental defenses are briefly lowered during this time, revealing some overly protective emotions which Iron captures. Perhaps Lenorr is something more than a mere subordinate.  
As everyone appears to have calmed down now and sheathed their weapons, Risha peers towards Nadia, seeing how she appears quite relieved that it ended without violence. In contrast, Lenorr looks mildly disappointed. 

Risha hopes to make the situation even easier and moves up to Nadia.  
“Hey, what’s your name, kid?”

The young Jedi looks at her and then scowls.  
“Nadia. And I’m not a kid. I’m well into my twenties, you know.”

Risha smirks and offers her hand.  
“Risha Drayen. The big scary Sith over there is Lenorr Evintok. She’s not as frightening as she may believe, though.”

“I heard that!”, Lenorr exclaims from her part of the room.

“That was the point.”  
A moment after this, she wraps an arm around Nadia’s shoulders, surprising the sarkhai.  
“You know, you kinda remind me of an old friend of mine. She’s also quite short and very cute.”

At first, Nadia isn’t sure what to respond with, but settles on pouting slightly.  
“What? I’m not that short!”

Risha chuckles.  
“If you say so.”

Once all the weapons are gone, Iron sits down in front of Bery on the chairs by the table.  
“Put your hands on your knees and do not try to move too much”, she instructs the twi’lek and Bery does what she can to follow them. Not being entirely satisfied, Iron places a hand on the Captain’s chin and raises it up somewhat, so that they face each other more directly. Iron is only slightly taller.  
Bery is quite surprised by how physical this Jedi seems to get, but can’t complain if she wants things to be done correctly and remove any doubts of her innocence.  
“Very well, let us begin. Tell me when and how you met Ktila.”

Bery glances around their position for a moment, looking confused.  
“You…don’t need any equipment or whatever? To make sure I’m not lying.”

“I do not require such things. Now, answer the question.”

“It wasn’t technically a question, but…” Iron hardly moves an inch at the little taunt and Bery clears her throat awkwardly.  
“Uh, anyway, guess it’s pretty simple, really. The first time we met was when we helped Zal and some of her subordinates get in behind enemy lines, so that Zal and Ktila could talk, have sex or…whatever they were gonna do. Risha is pretty good friends with a woman from that Sith’s crew and we’ve run into each other a few times. Haven’t spoken much with Ktila per se, but she’s got my holo frequency and sends a mail whenever she needs some help with similar issues of getting to see her girlfriend.”

So far so good, as Iron cannot sense any immediate deception. It definitely seems like she’s glossing over the details, but they are not required.  
“I see. What about your affiliation to the Republic then? And do you trade with the hutts as well?”

“Uh, well, like I said, I used to work for the Republic in the past, due to it being a pretty profitable partnership for a while. That changed once my position in the galactic underground got a lot more respectable.  
As for the hutts…yeah, we do some business with them, but they’ve closed down a lot of it recently, for some reason. Dunno why.”

Iron nods briefly.  
“Very well. And the ship you spoke of, it is yours?”

Bery blinks at first and then raises an eyebrow doubtfully.  
“What? Yeah, of course it is. What does that have to do with anything?”

She doesn’t explain, but doesn’t have to either, for it appears that Bery is telling the truth for all these three subjects.  
“Moving on. Do you work with the Empire?”

There’s a little bit of hesitation here, no more than a second.  
“No, I don’t.”

She may have made it a little bit too easy for Iron.  
“That is a lie.” 

“What?! How dare you-“  
She points at Iron, but the Jedi merely grabs her hand and lowers it back to her knees, making Bery sigh.  
“…okay, yes, fine. I do work with them, but not exclusively! Like I said, I have business with a bunch of factions and the imps are only one side.”

The initial lie was suspicious, but Iron may have to admit that it seems likely that she merely chose to do so because of speaking to a Jedi. Can’t fault her for that.  
“I have one last question, which you must answer truthfully. Your companion - Lenorr - has she truly left the Empire?”  
Bery is even more unsure here than before and can’t help herself when she tries to glance towards the Sith. Unfortunately, Iron does not intend to allow her to do this and puts a hand to the twi’lek’s cheek, making her face the Jedi once more.  
“Look at me when you respond, not anyone else.”

Bery groans in frustration.  
“Alright, you win. She has left it…mostly. I guess she’s still a little bit associated with it, but not like she used to be. She doesn’t work against the Republic or anything. I’m not lying when I say she works for me. She really does and I trust her not to screw me over.”

From all she has said so far, Iron has to accept that Bery is telling the truth. Every emotion and stray sensation that has left her has been as close to being true as possible.  
“Very well, I believe you. It appears you are probably not who I am looking for after all.”

The Captain shrugs.  
“Told you. You wanna explain what this is all about then?”

“I am sorry, I cannot give you any details. It is truly a very classified subject.  
That said, the Republic did still have something stolen from their possession, a rather important object.  
By listening and searching through various rumors and acquiring certain information around this station, we were led in the direction of this warehouse.”

The rest of the group overhears the conversation and Risha raises a hand to rub at her chin in thought.  
“Huh. Sounds to me like someone might’ve been trying to set us up. If they pointed you towards us, it’s possible that it was one of Bery’s rivals. Or mine.”

“I do not know if that is true, but whoever it was, it is someone with a lot of power and possibly being associated with the Empire. That last bit of information is not entirely certain either, but it is what we have been led to believe.  
It is clear that you were not responsible, Captain Shodem, but the culprit does have connections on this station.”

Now that she’s free to sit however she wants, Bery leans back in her chair and folds her arms.  
“Well, that could be anyone. There’s all kinds of scumbags doing business in this port and increasingly so from both the Republic and the Empire.  
But hey, seeing as how we’re kinda involved now, we might be able to help ya out. You know, if you’re willing to do some business with us in return.” 

It appears this twi’lek does not wait long until turning things around towards the topic of credits, making Iron fairly unsure.  
“I would prefer not to get involved with any illegal activity.”

“Okay, that’s fair, but what about moderately legal ones?”

As she hesitates with how to respond, being in two minds of the best approach here, Nadia decides to interject with her own opinion.  
“Master, we don’t have many other clues for how to proceed with this issue, do we? Perhaps we should consider every option given to us. It does appear we can trust them to a certain degree.”

Iron takes a deep breath and slowly exhales it, addressing Bery again.  
“My Padawan is correct. We do need aid, especially information and would be willing to make a deal with you, Captain.”

Bery seems very pleased and shakes Iron’s hand.  
“Then let’s do it. We’ll get in contact with as many people as we can, if you give us more info about what we’re searching for. Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find ‘em for ya.”

It may be that they can succeed with the help of these criminals, but will it be worth it in the end? She certainly hopes so.  
Shortly afterwards, she faces Lenorr once more.  
“So…you are a Sith smuggler?”

Lenorr stares at her for several moments before she sighs heavily, hanging her head slightly. At the same time, Bery and Risha chuckles.  
“That is…complicated.”

“No no, she definitely is!”, Bery insists. “The best one too! Probably because she’s the only one.”

“…shut up, please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, I guess this could partially be seen as me teasing the hidden enemy even further, but mostly I write these chapters to show that everyone gets involved in this issue and have a stake in it. Also, I've always been a sucker for having my class characters interacting and hadn't had that opportunity with Iron and Bery yet._   
>  _On Saturday, there'll be some more of that! Sort of, anyway. It'll focus on Jovana, but Cierah will be in it too for a bit._


	56. Moral crossroads (BH)

“No way.”

“What do you mean? I totally could.”

“In your dreams, maybe, but not in reality. There’s just no way you could beat me.”

Mako rolls her eyes and folds her arms.  
“You can’t know that. You haven’t even seen me play yet!”

Jovana smirks slightly, knowing how fun and easy it is to tease Mako, and actually succeed with it too.  
“Don’t need to. I know you by now and that’s enough for me to be sure of my victory. You’re a long way from even standing a chance.”

The slicer sighs as they wander up the stairs to the main level of the Blood Fist, heading towards the bridge.  
“That’s…that’s not even how it works!”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, it isn’t! If you think card games are about people, you’ve clearly misunderstood the purpose.”

“Oh yeah? How come I’ve been playing this shit successfully for years then, huh? And no, it’s not luck. If it was, I’d have lost a lot of creds somewhere along the line, but I haven’t. I’m a professional at this.”

Mako glances up towards her with a doubtful gaze.  
“Professional? Please, you’re never professional, not even when you hunt.”

Jov’s smirk grows while she tries to put her hand on the shorter woman’s hair to ruffle it, but Mako manages to dodge.  
“You’re lucky that I like you. Wouldn’t take that kind of crap from anyone else.”

When the duo enters the bridge, it is empty at this time and from the windows they can only see the stars sprawled out over the emptiness of space. They’re docked with an imperial station, just about to detach from it and head back into hyperspace after having resupplied themselves.  
The crew has recently completed their first successful job for the Empire, after having returned to their old contract and they all have a feeling that this might be the start of a good streak. Unfortunate things may happen along the way, but they’ve at least been able to regain some of their confidence.

Inside of the bridge, Mako sits down behind the pilot’s seat, while Jov makes sure to operate the sensor and weapon’s equipment.  
“Look”, Mako starts, “all I’m saying is, experience and people skills are not needed to be good at cards, because those games have very strict internal codes and odds. I can be totally crap at the stuff you’re a supposed expert on and yet still beat you. One just needs to do the math, and by now, you should know that I’m a master at mathematics.”

Jov snorts, eyes focused on the terminal ahead of her while she recalibrates the ship’s sensor alignment.  
“Like I said, you’re wrong. Those games are more than the basic systems. I mean, everyone can understand the fundamentals of waging war and engaging in battle, but once you’re in it, everything is way different from the simulations. It’s about strategy, tactics and psychology, to feel and understand your opponents.”

Mako looks at her very skeptically.  
“What? Did you just compare card games to war?”

“I’m not saying they’re the same thing, obviously, just that they’re similar in the sense that you can’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into until you’re actually there.”

“Jov, that’s ridiculous! I mean, games are clearly mathematically consistent. You only have to calculate the odds, the positions of cards and not lose count. After that, you’re guaranteed to win.  
Besides, haven’t you seen or at least heard of all the cheaters who’ve gotten past the system and won?”

“Yeah, okay, I have, but they’re cheaters, Mako. They didn’t play it correctly to begin with, so it wouldn’t count. Most of the time they’re exposed anyway and had they played it correctly, they would never win, nor would you.”

Mako shakes her head.  
“It’s only cheating because they know that the system is too static and can easily be beaten.”

“Look, card games are about bluffing and being smarter than your opponent, something math can never save you from.”

“What are you talking about? Mathematicians are some of the smartest people around!”

“Yeah, numbers smart. I’m talking people smart here, Mako.”

The slicer shakes her head, thinking that Jov is making no sense, but pointing that out to her likely wouldn’t matter. She has her way of looking at the galaxy, and it’s difficult to deter her from it.  
“Someday, I’m gonna prove to you how wrong you are and you’re gonna wish you never challenged me.”

Jov turns a very amused gaze towards Mako.  
“Is that so? Well hey, I’m up for it. I could make myself ready whenever you are.”

“Maybe once we finish the next job?”

“Sounds good to me. Whoever wins will have to pay for drinks for the rest of the night.”

Mako tends not to drink all too much alcoholic beverages anyway, which is probably why Jov would dare to make that kind of bet. Then again, Mako could always order something sweeter instead and get more out of it that way.  
“Okay, but you better get ready to have less credits during that evening.”

For a few minutes, the bridge goes silent as they finish the last preparations across various stations, to make sure that the Blood Fist is fully prepared to both go into hyperspace and to leave it. These sorts of precautions aren’t always necessary, but as they tend to jump into some fairly hazardous zones, they’ve learned to always think one or two steps ahead. Mako probably has several more steps that Jov haven’t even been able to see, but that’s part of why she keeps the slicer around.

“We ready to jump, or what?”

Mako nods briefly, her fingers tapping a few buttons by another screen.  
“Mm, we are in just a moment. There. Navigational maneuvers calibrated, sensors and scanners set in the correct alignments, weapons fully loaded and locked, and an engine that is ready to burst right through every star system in the galaxy.”

“Right, let’s get out of here.”

“Can do. Lemme just-“  
She suddenly stops and blinks confusedly while she sees a flashing light on one of the displays.  
“Oh, uh, looks like we’ve got something here. An incoming call.”

“Now? Who is it?”

Shortly after the question is asked, Mako appears slightly unsure and taps at the side of the screen in a somewhat nervous manner.  
“It’s...an encrypted frequency. Can’t trace it. Or well, I can, but I’d need some time and my equipment.”

Jov arches her brow, finding it both intriguing and worrying, before she simply shrugs.  
“Alright. Might as well see who it is, I guess. Patch it through.”

There is both audio and a hologram, but neither of them are fully functional, at least not as they should be. The hologram itself is just flickering lights without a clear image, and the audio sounds a little bit broken, as if the voice is distorted.  
“Greetings. Am I speaking to the crew of the Blood Fist?”

Jov frowns and doesn’t seem satisfied with the results. She turns her eyes to Mako.  
“Can you clear this up?”

Mako’s hands tap at a very high speed across various buttons and screens, her eyes practically moving at lightning speed as she shifts through them.  
“I dunno. Can’t find anything that solves it. Not sure this is actually created on our end.”

“Don’t bother”, the distorted voice says.  
“I have no interest in a face-to-face conversation at this time, and only wish to put forth a proposition which I believe you might find intriguing.”

Jov tries her best to listen and determine more about the voice, perhaps at least an accent, but it’s really hard to say. They seem to speak Basic pretty well anyhow, but that can mean anything.  
“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“I know who you are, Jovana Vlasic. Your reputation as a bounty hunter is famous, currently bordering on becoming legendary. You have captured, destroyed and killed all kinds of people and objects throughout your moderately long career, ever since leaving Nar Shaddaa. I find it very impressive.  
That said, one might wonder how far you would be willing to go.”

There’s a small notion of superiority in the voice, which Jov doesn’t quite like, as if they have all the cards and can only leave her guessing. Even if they can’t see her, she shrugs anyhow.  
“Dunno. Depends on the job and the pay, I guess.”

“Well, my proposition involves a more…direct act of violence, you might say.”

Jov tilts her head curiously.  
“I see. Are you trying to hire us to kill someone?”

There’s a very brief chuckle being emitted by the voice.  
“I suppose you are as bright as they say, hmm? You have certainly caught my drift, anyhow.”

Yeah, this tone is really getting to her, making her clench one of her fists. She’s not going to do anything violent at this time, but she doesn’t like all too smug assholes. This in itself is fairly ironic, seeing how she can get that way sometimes, but she doesn’t like people with too blatantly superior attitudes.  
“Not sure I like your implication. Me and my crew are not assassins, you know. Should’ve been obvious from the job title.”  
She may not say it, but she knows that this isn’t always true, of course.

“Is that so? Are you telling me that you have never killed people for credits? If there is a bounty out for someone with the only condition being death, is that not technically assassination?”

She looks somewhat uncomfortable then, as does Mako, who has expressed concern for this type of thing before.  
“Well…I guess you might see it that way, but there’s usually some difference”, Jov remarks. “Like, a bounty is more open to everyone who are able to take it. Normal assassinations tend to be offered directly to the killer.”

“Fair enough, but the essentials of what I have here is simply a bounty with a price on someone’s head, rather than their capture. All I’m doing is directing it to…a small number of hunters.”

A.k.a. this person is only offering it to Jov’s group, which technically doesn’t make it the kind of task they prefer to involve themselves with. Jov feels uncertain how she wants to respond and Mako doesn’t offer her a particularly confident look either. She knows how the young slicer dislikes this type of topic. Once or twice, Jov has even had to decline certain jobs specifically because Mako really didn’t like it. In many ways, due to their connection, Mako tends to be her weakness, like a little sister begging her not to do something foolish.

“Right. Well, it’s something we could think about, I guess.”

The voice is silent for a moment and they hear nothing more than the static background. Mako checks that the call hasn’t ended, and both of them figure that this person must be considering it as well, or perhaps waiting.  
“I can hear and feel that there is something unsure about you, miss Vlasic. However, I would be willing to put in a rather tempting incentive for you, which I’m sure you will enjoy.  
The price on this kill is currently valued at one million credits.”

At first, they’re not sure that they heard correctly, and both women are immediately brought into shocked silence. They almost have to go through the words they just heard, to make sure they weren’t mistaken.  
“Wait, did you actually say…one million?”, Mako asks.

“Correct.”

Jov clears her throat and sits up a bit straighter in her chair.  
“Okay, uh, we’d obviously be willing to at least listen to your offer.”

“I thought as much”, they say rather smugly once more.  
“There is another hurdle, but I want you to give this some thought before you jump to any hasty conclusions.  
The target which you must kill to earn these credits is Darth Imperius, within the Dark Council of the Sith Empire.”

And almost immediately, the situation swings back around, making Jov feel immediately disheartened.  
“Darth Imperius? The Sith?”

“That’s right.”

Jov raises a hand, running it slowly over her chin and cheeks, thinking hard about if it’s worth to even keep the conversation going. She glances at Mako, who obviously seems to go through the same dilemma.  
“Why would you wanna target someone from the Dark Council?”

“Unfortunately, as you may realize, I cannot tell you the whole story of why I seek her death, but I hope you understand when I say that I have a stake in the matter and leave it at that.  
At any rate, rest assured that I am very serious about this matter and will give you the entire fee upon the successful completion of this task.”

“Well, it is a lot of credits but…it’s also a very deadly job. You might get more for your creds if you hire a professional assassin, ya know.”

“I’m not so sure of this. Were you not the one who slew Jedi Master Kellian Jarro on the Aurora? Did you not defeat Renegate Vause on Hoth? Was it not you who toppled an ambush by the GenoHaradan themselves? Did Battlemaster Jun Seros not fall in a duel against you on Corellia? And was it not you and your crew who not only managed to infiltrate Supreme Chancellor Dorian Janarus’ ship, got all the way to him and then turned around to instead break into the vessel of Darth Tormen to slay him?”

For each name, Jov’s brow seems to furrow even further. She should be proud to hear all the names of the people she has killed in some way, battles which has earned her a reputation on a galactic underground scale, and yet it only makes her suspicious.  
“You’re well-informed.”

“Of course. I would not be so adamant to hire you specifically if this was not the case. You may claim that a professional assassin is more useful for this endeavor, but it’s a disingenuous statement. You are a master of combat, miss Vlasic, a natural on the battlefield. Very few people know the ways to kill a person in the same way that you do. I do not want some second-rate assassin, I want the best. And you, miss Vlasic, are at the very top of my list.”

Well, they certainly know how to praise someone, she won’t deny that. If it was for any other job, or at the very least not someone she would be this reluctant to aim towards, she might have been won over. Unfortunately, she can only feel like someone is trying to push her at this time.  
“Not gonna deny that I’m good. Hell, you might even be right. I’m probably the best hunter in the galaxy, much thanks to my team. But you’re asking for something I’ve never done before. Even Tormen didn’t have the power of a Dark Councilor.”

“True, but Imperius is not as invincible as you believe. She has her reputation and some powerful bodyguards, but there are ways to slip past these elements. I am sure you will be able to figure it out.  
To prove my sincerity in this matter, let me offer you further motivation.  
I have sent 100,000 credits your way. It is only a small initial portion of what I can offer you. There are even bonuses if you complete this in a spectacular fashion.”

Jov turns to look at Mako, and the slicer widen her eyes once she’s done checking it.  
“They’re…not kidding. 100k creds in your account. Shit.”

Taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself, Jov realizes that she must give an answer. This person likely won’t be patient enough for her to wait.  
“I don’t like the idea of this thing, but alright, I’ll do it. I’ll take the job.”

Mako looks shocked and turns towards her.  
“What? But…boss-“

Jov holds up her hand, showing that Mako must stay silent.  
“You heard me, right?”

“I did”, the voice responds, “and this is excellent news. I will call you again in two days’ time to hear more of the progress in your preparations for this assignment.  
The mission you are about to embark on may be the most important in your life, miss Vlasic. I hope that you will take it as seriously as possible, for your own safety. Good luck.”

Once they hang up, Jov looks at Mako.  
“I’m obviously not gonna do it.”

Mako breathes out in relief and shakes her head.  
“Phew, you almost had me there for a second. You looked so serious.”

Jov’s brow is still furrowed and she crosses her arms.  
“Yeah, I guess. It’s just…hadn’t expected we’d be sent something like this. Someone really wants her dead if they’re willing to go this far.”

“Mm, seems like it. You heard what they said right? They claimed to have a stake in the matter. You think it’s another Dark Councilor?”

“Could be, or maybe even a rival, but there’s also a possibility that they were just trying to trick us.”  
She looks away for a moment, tapping the armrest of her chair in thought. Not being satisfied with it, she quickly stands up and makes for the door.  
“Get us into hyperspace.”

Mako glances over her shoulder, her eyes following Jov’s path.  
“Uh, okay. What are you gonna do?”

“Make some calls.”  
  


* * *

  
In the dimly lit room of Jov’s cabin, another hologram can now be seen on a medium sized projector, but this one is actually fully functional, rather than the distorted view from their unknown caller.

The image is a very familiar one to Jov; her dear beloved agent, Cierah, stands in a tight black outfit, with the owl resting on her shoulder. The hunter still can’t get over her discomfort with that bird, and it appears Menace is able to glare at her even through the holocall. At least he can’t reach her.  
Cierah’s current expression shifts in shades of confusion and frustration as she rubs the bridge of her nose.

“Jovana...I can’t believe you’ve done it again. How in the Emperor’s name did you get into this mess?”

Jov folds her arms and frowns.  
“Hey, it’s not my fault! I wasn’t the one who made the call, dammit!”

“I’m not saying you did, but you can’t deny the fact that you have been very eager to build your reputation, which might attract specifically this kind of attention.”

“Yeah, so? It earns me a lot of creds, right? And your precious Empire wouldn’t have been so eager to hire me if that wasn’t the case.”

Cierah shakes her head, not wanting to argue about this particular topic at this time, instead focusing on the issue at hand.  
“This is a very worrying notion, done at a tremendously inopportune time. I wonder what their angle truly is.”

Jov shrugs.  
“Beats me. They did mention something about having a stake in this, though.”

“Sounds like some fairly blatant bait to me.”

“Yeah, I felt that way too, but you never know. Maybe this person is just an idiot with a lot of cash.”

Cierah raises a hand, lifting it towards Menace and strokes a few fingers over the feathers on his belly, something he definitely seems to enjoy by the way his eyes close.  
“Why would they focus so directly on you, though? They could’ve gone for someone subtler, but that’s not what they did. This step just…doesn’t make sense to me.  
Hmm, do they know that you and I are affiliated with each other? Could they possibly know my connection as well?”

The things she’s saying is making less and less sense to Jov now, as Cierah seems to simply be thinking aloud.  
“Uh, you’ve lost me. What’s going on?”

The agent quickly shakes her head.  
“Nevermind. I have a suggestion, one that is likely the best way to solve this situation. I believe it might be wise to take this directly to Imperius and I can arrange a meeting with her.”

Jov blinks in surprise.  
“Wait, what? You could do that? And she would just agree?”

“Of course. Did I not tell you that I am working with her?”

“You did, but…you know, she’s Sith. I just figured she would never listen this much to you and definitely not do whatever you say.”

Cierah rolls her eye.  
“I can’t make her do whatever I please, you fool, but this is a matter of her safety. She will agree if I suggest it.”

“Alright, if you think that's best, guess we’ll do it.”  
She looks thoughtful for a moment, remembering a certain encounter from a few weeks ago, one that still tends to make her neck somewhat tense at times.  
“In fact, think I’ve got a few questions I’d like to pose for a Dark Councilor as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, there's a second chapter to this scenario on Wednesday next week, where Valcera will make another appearance._


	57. Sails of unity (BH + IA + SI)

It’s not rare for Jovana to visit her girlfriend’s ship, even if she wouldn’t exactly say she sees it very often, and it’s always interesting to observe the differences between the interior design of the two. There’s a crisp cleanliness to Cierah’s vessel, the Rogue Warden, one that can’t really be compared to the inside of the Blood Fist, but at the same time, the Mandalorian and her crew tends to add more personal touches to their ship, whether it’s tags, special items, photos or something similar. There are such elements in here as well, but not quite to the extent which Jovana and her friends tends to go. In some ways, it’s possible to say that the Fist is a home, while the Warden reminds them more of an office. Perhaps that’s the contrast between the two women in charge.

Whether it is or not, such things don’t really matter, as their chemistry can’t be denied. As soon as she steps out of the airlock, Jov feels herself being filled with excitement at the sight of her partner, as Cierah is already waiting inside the entrance corridor next to Raina.  
“You are late”, the agent complains. “We have had to wait for you longer than we should have.”

Jov smirks at her and shrugs, as she strides forward in a confident manner.  
“Good to see you too, beautiful.  
And hey, it’s not really my fault. Mako was taking her sweet time before we got going earlier. Told her to hurry up, but she just wouldn’t listen."

Mako, who’s walking a step behind Jov, glares at her friend.  
“Excuse me? You can’t just give me all the blame for this, dammit! You were being even lazier than me.”

Raina smiles at the two of them and offers a brief wave.  
“Hello there, miss Vlasic. It’s alright, we have not been waiting all too long.”

Jov returns the gesture, but more casually.  
“Hey how’s it going, Temple? You doin’ alright?”

“I am, thank you. Just a bit nervous, that’s all. This feels so…momentous, I suppose.”

“Don’t worry, happens to everyone when it comes to the Sith.  
Now, just gimme a sec”, she says and stops right in front of Cierah, leaning towards her. 

The agent snorts, but doesn’t prevent Jov from wrapping one arm around her waist, and putting the other hand at Cierah’s chin, in order to direct it properly. As their lips are locked in a deep kiss, she gives in even further by placing a hand on Jov’s chest, despite the armor adorning that section, while closing her eye. She tends to complain about how eager Jov can be to show affection in front of others, but it’s hard for her to deny how much she enjoys it. She’s usually not the instigator, but she can certainly be blamed for reciprocating.

Seeing the display makes Mako roll her eyes, while Raina look away awkwardly, not wanting to intrude.  
Mako chooses to wave at the other woman when neither of the two are reachable.  
“Hey Raina. Glad to see you again. It’s been a while.”

The Ensign seems thankful for the distraction and looks towards her.  
“It certainly has, and I am glad you are here too, Mako. How have you been doing?”

“Oh, you know, I’m fine for the most part. Just kinda wish there wasn’t such a damn _kiss rain_ on the horizon, though.”

Putting the emphasis on those words appears to have gotten Jov’s attention and she stops what she’s doing, to glance over her shoulder with a smirk.  
“Pfff, don’t gimme that shit, Mako. You’d be doing the exact same thing, if you actually had a girlfriend or boyfriend.”

Mako sighs annoyedly.  
“Oh geez, thanks for pointing that out, you ass!”

This makes Jov chuckle, while Cierah shakes her head disapprovingly.  
“Do not tease your dear slicer, Jovana. You should know that her possible revenge will be much worse.”

“Yeah, but she never will. She loves me too much.”

“I think that’s _very_ debatable, especially right now”, Mako remarks.

Without having actually thought about it all too much, Jov finds herself still running a few fingers through Cierah’s ponytail. Whenever they actually get to be together, she feels it’s important to take every opportunity for intimacy that she can seize, even for small moments like this.  
However, the fact that she can do it without interruption, kinda distracts her.  
“Wait a sec. Babe, where’s your lil’ monster?”

Cierah arches a confused eyebrow.  
“Pardon? My monster?  
Hold on, are you talking about Menace?”

“Who else would it be?"

It’s her turn to roll her eye now, as she recalls how often Jov overreacts with these things.  
“He’s not that bad, certainly not enough to be given such a designation.”

“You only say that because he hasn’t bitten you. Trust me, he’s ruthless, worse than some of the scumbags I’ve taken down in my job.”

“Perhaps that is dependent on how you treat him. I show him respect, while you don’t.”

“What? Babe, he bit me immediately when we met! I hadn’t done a single thing!”

Both Raina and Mako seem fairly amused by their conversation.  
“It is partially true that he can be quite protective of you, sir”, Raina points out.

“Although, let’s not forget how much of a prick Jov can be. I’m sure your bird’s attitude is partially justified, Cipher”, Mako comments.

Jov stares disapprovingly at her friend.  
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, pal.”

“You’re welcome”, Mako tells her with an added wink.

Cierah shakes her head at their silliness and folds her arms.  
“At any rate, no, he’s not with me today. I thought it was wise to let him rest elsewhere, just in case Imperius somehow dislikes birds as much as you do.”

Jov frowns.  
“Hey, who said I don’t like birds? It’s mostly just your beast, because he won’t leave me alone. If that happens to be the case with this Sith, though, I wouldn’t blame her.”

“Jovana, Menace can be very nice to the people he likes.”

“He’s an asshole.”

“Or maybe he’s simply adept at detecting them.”  
Before they can get much further, they feel a minor vibration through the ship, signaling a particular event.  
“Ah, that must be them. Let’s stow the chatter and prepare for their arrival. I want us to look proper when they see us.”

About a minute or two passes by, until another set of doors in the same section of the ship opens up, revealing three other figures.  
The one at the front is familiar to most of them, as her appearance have been seen publicly, as well shown privately. Valcera moves ahead of her companions, every step filled with a sense of elegance and determination. Her black hair is put up in the bun they have all spotted her with before and her body is adorned in robes of black, red and white colors, with a few metal pieces protecting her shoulders, neck, stomach and arms. It makes them wonder if she might have a shield generator somewhere, but it’s hard to tell.

Without saying it out loud, Jov finds it interesting how short and rather unintimidating Val really is. She’s a gorgeous sight, this isn’t something that needs to be disputed, but she doesn’t ooze with power and terror like most Sith, except for the sharp aura around her eyes.  
However, this is quickly a thought that would slip out of anyone’s mind, when they spot the giant hulking red creature behind her. Jov has only heard of the dashade, never actually met one, but this guy is definitely of the more impressive examples.  
On the other flank, Val is also accompanied by a fairly cute, albeit serious-looking, orange-skinned togruta, wearing robes in shades of dark purple and black. She doesn’t appear to be dangerous, but Jov gets the sense that a vicious fighter hides beneath that display.

Val stops not too far away and places her hands at her waist, smiling towards the agent.  
“Well well, here you are. Who could’ve ever expected that I would finally get to meet the famous Cipher Nine in the flesh?”

Cierah bows her head slightly in return.  
“I have been looking forward to this occasion as well, my lord. I am pleased to see you have arrived unscathed.”  
Jov can’t help but smirk at the polite tone Cierah falls into, and definitely notes the use of title. She would’ve thought her girlfriend preferred to end such formalities nowadays, but it seems Val may be an exception.

“And on time as well, hmm? Or at the very least fashionably late. Despite this, I want you to know that I was eager to arrive. Just ask my companions.”

“I don’t doubt it, my lord, although I understand if you find it unusual for me to call this type of meeting. I believed it was prudent for this particular event, as I needed to introduce someone to you.”  
Cierah gestures towards the woman by her side.  
“This is Jovana Vlasic, to most people known as-“

“The Grand Champion of the Great Hunt”, Val interrupts her, while eyeing the Mandalorian with interest. “There’s no introduction needed, my dear Cipher, as I am familiar with this woman’s work.”  
She gradually closes the distance between them and offers her hand.  
“It’s quite an honor to finally be able to meet you, miss Vlasic. I am Valcera Nih’etat, or Darth Imperius of the Dark Council, head of House Kallig.”

Jov clears her throat and takes the hand, shaking it firmly.  
“Yeah, for me too. There’s so much information available about you on the HoloNet, but Cierah likes to mention you from time to time as well.”  
She suddenly feels how the agent pushes an elbow into her side, making her sigh.  
“…my lord.”

Val seems amused and chuckles.  
“Please, there’s no need to use that title here. Simply ‘Valcera’ or ‘Val’ is fine with me.”

“Oh, very well. Works for me, Val”, she says, while giving the glaring Cierah a very smug look. 

Since they’re not the only people here, the duo further behind also wants in on the conversation and one of them clears her throat to get the attention of the room.  
“It’s very nice for us to meet you as well, my lord. I’m Mako, working as a slicer in this big brute’s bounty hunter team. She wouldn’t be much without me.  
The lady over there is Raina Temple, protégé to Cierah. It’s kinda like an apprentice. She’s probably one of the best rising agents outside of any factions right now.” 

Raina looks slightly surprised, not having been ready to receive praise any time soon, but she bows her head for Val regardless.  
“To meet one of the Dark Council is an honor, my lord.”

Val appears mildly amused by Mako’s antics, but also give Raina a very curious gaze, something noted by Cierah. She hasn’t actually spoken much of the younger woman with Imperius, as she didn’t really feel it was necessary. Does the mirialan realize the truth? She isn’t sure if she’s comfortable with that thought.  
“Oh, how charming. Hadn’t expected you would bring your friends, but I approve.  
Perhaps I should introduce mine as well. The muscular man to my right is my foremost bodyguard, Khem Val. The lovely young woman to the left is my apprentice, Ashara Zavros. It’s similar to a protégé, I suppose”, she says and winks slyly at Mako.

The togruta bows when her name is mentioned, making Cierah eye her curiously.  
“She was a Jedi before being assigned to you, yes?”

Instead of answering, Val looks towards Ash, letting her speak for herself.  
“I was, indeed, and I am not ashamed of my past. However, working and learning from master Valcera has been, and still is, a tremendous experience, which has helped me grow more than I had anticipated.”

A lot of praise, which sounds quite sincere, despite the even tone. Mako’s attention is drawn towards Khem, however.  
“Uh, not to be rude or anything, but did you actually name him after you? Or what’s going on there?”

Val smiles wryly at this comment, as if she expected it.  
“I did not, although that would certainly have been entertaining.  
No, Khem is much older than he looks, more so than all of us. The similar names are merely a fortunate coincidence.”

“Oh, okay. Just thought I’d ask.  
Anyway, it’s very interesting to meet a couple of alien Sith who are as powerful as the two of you. I think that’s pretty rare in the Empire, right?”

Not seeing the point of hiding the truth, Val nods curtly.  
“It is, due to how poorly the Empire has treated us, for as long as it has existed. However, the times are changing and while I’m continuing to gain power, our nation will soon look very different. My vision for the Sith Order and the Empire at large is definitely not the same as what the Emperor or the Dark Council of old had in mind.”

The fact that the entire group on their side are human doesn’t really escape anyone, but at least they all know they’re on the same side.  
Shortly after this, Cierah sees the need to change topic and get onto what they’re here for.  
“My lord, perhaps we should inform you of what has occurred as of late and why I asked you to come.

“Ah, yes, of course. Please, proceed.”

“Jovana here spoke to me of a call she received from an unknown frequency. The voice and image was distorted, making her unable to find the origin, but what they wanted is at least blatant. They seek your death and hoped to hire Jovana for it.”

Silence descends upon the room for several moments, until Val turns her gaze towards Jov.  
“Miss Vlasic, I thought you were a bounty hunter, not an assassin.”

The Mandalorian groans in agreement.  
“Yeah, tell me about it. It’s what I’ve said to lots of idiots who’ve called me, but people seem to forget the difference.”

“I see. Was there something special with this request then? Other than that they obviously wanted me dead. Not that this is news, per se.”

“Well, we’re not completely sure but, they were ready to pay a lot. A million credits, with 100,000 being sent as a reassurance that they’re serious.”

Not any impossible figures, but Val does seem fairly impressed.  
“Hmm, yes, with that amount of credits, it’s definitely an indication how much they want to you to complete this task.”

Cierah decides to interject before they get too far.  
“While this may certainly be the case, we should not jump to any overly swift conclusions, my lord. We have to take into account that this might be the same individual who has targeted you before, which means they may have another angle. The possibility of them being so stupid as to hire someone like Jovana would appear to be implausible to me, which is why I’m assuming it’s bait, or a faint of some kind.”

Val looks around searchingly, trying to follow her line of thought.  
“For what purpose?”

“As of right now, I do not know, but I will find out, I swear.”

Either way, Val does show notions of worry across her expression, running a hand in thought over her chin and cheek.  
“It’s definitely troubling to imagine someone not only targeting me - as that’s normal - but also being ready to gather this amount of credits to make it happen. This might indicate an increased number of third parties or other mercenaries being dispatched in my path, and I would prefer to avoid such an outcome.  
That said, if it is a lure as well, then my detractor is utilizing even more confusing methods, which is quite frustrating.”  
She shifts her gaze in Cierah’s direction.  
“Could this be a test of some kind? To see how we react. Or are they merely trying to distract some of us?”

Cierah shakes her head.  
“I’m sorry, I have no answers for you, my lord.  
Either way, I do have a suggestion for you. I believe it might be wise if we attempt to counteract this in quite a public manner, and staging something different. My proposal is that you simply try to seize Jovana’s contract in some fashion, as if you managed to offer her more credits than your opponent. If you do, those who hear of it will see that your resources must be quite substantial and it will also make it seem as if Jovana – just like the official rumors about her say – cares more for credits than loyalty. She did ‘betray’ Tormen, after all; now she’s doing it again.”

Val nods in recognition of her argument, while Jov smirks at her girlfriend.  
“Heh, I like that. Don’t mind being associated with credits. The more people who want to pay me, the merrier.”

“Well, obviously, this would not involve any actual transactions. She’s not hiring you for real.”

“Yeah, thanks, I got that part. I’m not that thick.” 

“Debatable”, they hear Mako adding.

In the meantime, Val continues to study Cierah.  
“How public do you suggest that we make this then?”

“As much as you can. Perhaps she should come directly to your office in the Citadel? She’s a known and rather famous figure, and seeing her walk into your quarters will quickly spread among the various intelligence organizations out there. It would definitely help with the concept of her betraying this employer.”

This gives the Mandalorian a moment to consider the notion and she raises a hand to scratch her chin.  
“Hmm, not entirely sure if I want that kind of reputation but, hey, if it gets me out of this shit, I guess I have no choice.”

Val offers another smile for Jov.  
“Well, if you prefer, I am certain I could arrange for some kind of reward, miss Vlasic. I want you to know that I appreciate what you do for me, of course.”

Cierah glances between the two of them rather skeptically.  
“I am doubtful whether such a gesture is truly needed, but I suppose it is up to you if you wish to make such a decision, my lord."

Jov turns to face her companion.  
“Uh, what? You don’t want her to keep me happy?”

“Is that not what I do for you?”

Well, she’s definitely caught in precarious situation here and despite having several ways to respond, Jov merely sighs.  
“Ugh, fine. I won’t be taking her cash.”  
Despite not being told earlier what type of relationship these two had, Val is now being shown how developed it is, and she seems very pleased somehow. This means there are things Cierah cares about as well, on a very personal level.  
Once it seems they’re done with this, Jov chooses to address a different topic.  
“So, uh, before we rush off elsewhere, I had something I wanted to talk to you about, Valcera. It’s about the Dark Council. Kind of.”

“Oh? Well, go right ahead. I’ll answer any questions.”

“Lord Aggrata – is that a name you recognize?”

Val raises a hand and taps her cheek in thought.  
“Hmm, Aggrata…no, can’t say I do. What about them?”

“Well, he’s a Sith, apparently used to be an apprentice to Darth Tormen, the guy I killed. A couple of weeks ago, he tried to challenge me and bind me to him, but I had some help to get out of his grip.  
The fact that a Sith wanted to kill me isn’t the strange part, but that he had some allies to fight us – Dark Honor Guards.”

Not only Val is surprised by this revelation, but Cierah as well.  
“Wait, you told me of this event, but you never mentioned anything about Dark Honor Guards.”

Of course she would know, due to the fact that Jov also had an important message to deliver back then. For now, she simply shrugs.  
“Yeah, never planned to either. Was gonna investigate it between just me and Mako, but seeing as I have the opportunity to ask a Dark Councilor directly, figured I might as well take it.”

Val’s expression shifts from intrigued to concerned.  
“This is very peculiar. I have never heard of this man and the thought of a Sith, not even a Darth, having Dark Honor Guards at his side is very worrying. It should not even be possible.  
They are part of the Imperial Guard and don’t serve us, but the Emperor directly. The Dark Honor Guard is the division assigned to both protect and watch the Dark Council. Their loyalty is absolute and would not be swayed by power grabs or credits. And you say you saw them with this Lord Aggrata?”

Jov nods slowly.  
“Yeah, I think so. Mako, that’s what you said, right?”

The young slicer clears her throat.  
“Uh, yeah. I’ve studied the info on those soldiers before and we’ve even encountered some of them, like on Belsavis. Dunno if it was actually them, but they were definitely wearing the garb of that unit.”

Everything they say only appears to make Val even more troubled, at least by the look of her frown.  
“Either what you saw was a trick or something very disturbing is going on. Do you have enemies in the Dark Council, miss Vlasic?”

Once more, Jov shrugs.  
“No idea. I don’t think so, but who knows? I did kill a pretty powerful Sith, with a bit of help. Guess some of your people might really dislike me for it.”

“Mm, true enough.  
Well, you have definitely piqued my interest and I would be willing to help you solve this issue. As soon as we get back to Dromund Kaas, I shall assign some resources to investigate the matter.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. Like I said, we were gonna work alone but, you’ll probably have more success, being in the middle of that shit.”

Seeing how smoothly the conversation is going, makes Mako smile.  
“You know, it’s kinda funny. If you don’t mind me saying it, you seem like a fairly chill Sith, lord Imperius.”

Val smirks at the slicer, not being offended by such an opinion apparently.  
“Thank you, my dear. Part of it may be because I was not always a Sith. Compared to many of my peers, I have not yet been consumed by the powers I control.”

Ash’s face softens as well, when she addresses the other duos.  
“When I said earlier how master Valcera has been good to learn from, I meant it on a personal level as well. She’s a very kind and pleasant person to be around. I consider her my friend as much as my tutor.”

Mako chuckles.  
“See? You even have apprentices who praise you!”

Cierah snorts briefly.  
“Perhaps, but so do a majority of Sith.”

Not being satisfied with her feelings being dismissed, Ash places a hand on Val’s shoulder.  
“But I do so wholeheartedly. I always speak my mind and I would never lie for someone I see as despicable. Master Valcera is a different kind of Sith, one I respect immensely.”

Seeing this interaction, Mako nudges her elbow against Jov’s side.  
“Hey boss, I’d prefer if you try to keep it friendly with these two Sith. They’re kinda cool.”

There’s further amusement in the gaze Jov offers her companion.  
“Yeah, thanks for the advice, pal. I’ll try my best. It's always really tempting to fight ‘em, though and test their abilities.”

Val exhales briefly while shaking her head, somehow having expected this response.  
“You mandalorians and your combat. Watch out so it doesn’t get you killed one day.”

“Oh, I won’t go that far. Cierah would just get really pissed off then.”

Cierah rolls her eye.  
“Not for lack of trying, though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Okay so, I don't think I have given Cierah's ship a name before. I can't recall ever writing it anywhere and I've kept going back and forth on the name, but finally decided on one today. If I'm wrong and I have given it one somewhere else, let me know._
> 
> _The next three chapters will have more than one class character involved as well. On Saturday, there'll be a Ktila/Zal chapter and the two chapters next week will be starring both Cierah and Reezah, so that'll be fun._


	58. If we were one (JK + SW)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I heard someone was thirsty for some Ktila/Zal?_

With a heavy sigh, Ktila steps back from the center of activity in her room and plonks herself down on the small light green sofa nearby. She tries to get into as comfortable of a position as possible, to calm herself down, but it’s to no avail. She can’t stop thinking about the possibilities and the risk of everything being solved too late, despite her companion’s best efforts. The attempt to shut her eyes and find some inner peace works only for about ten seconds, before she redirects them towards a small holo-display on a table next to the sofa, showing the time and how the numbers slowly keeps going.

“T7, how soon will this be done?”

The little droid currently stands in front of another holographic device, this one a projector, and utilizes his mechanical arms to remove plugs, wires, screws and more, in order to assess their quality, rearrange them or replace them with newer parts.  
However, since he can do this almost automatically, his circular head spins in order to redirect his visual feed towards Ktila.

“T7-O1 = still trying to assess damage to holographic projector. // Without proper examination + lack of assistance = No ETA.”

He speaks as calmly as ever, utilizing the noises of the Binary language. Ktila sometimes wonders if he’s actually not programmed with any extension for irritation, or if he’s simply a very calm droid. He manages to always remain serene when it comes to Ktila anyway. That said, doesn’t really help with her own anxiety in this situation.  
“Yes, I know, but you don’t have to give me an exact one, just an estimation.”

“T7-O1 = doing my best. // Master Ktila + other assignments = useful distractions in the meantime?”

She shakes her head.  
“I can’t focus on work right now, T7. Not when I know that my entire day might be ruined due to some weird problem.”  
Her red eyes turns to focus at the device just behind the droid and feels her own annoyance building.  
“I don’t even know how it happened. It’s been doing just fine up until now and there were no issues when I started it up for a test yesterday. And then, out of nowhere, it simply broke. How is that even possible?”

“Technology = not invincible. // Time + environment = less obvious, but still possible destructive measures.”

She knows he’s right, of course, and that she didn’t really need an explanation, but it’s not exactly a comfort.  
“This is the only two-way connection that she and I have, where we can avoid being spied upon. It took a lot of effort to attain this technology and program it just right. I don’t want to lose it now, because we don’t know if we’ll ever be able to get this type of thing again.”

T7 emits a few saddened beeps, not really saying anything, but making it sound as if he understands her predicament.  
“Master Ktila = Not worry! // T7-O1 = Fast worker + large databank. // Holographic projector = done in no time!”

Despite all the stress she’s unintentionally creating for herself, she can’t help but feel grateful of his enthusiasm and smiles faintly.  
“Thanks, T7. I know I’m pushing you right now but, I still appreciate what you do. It means a lot.”

“Conversation with Darth Zal’riva = not until another 30 minutes. // Master Ktila = try relax?”

“I’ll give it a shot, but it probably won’t work. Just…try to ignore my pacing, if you can.”  
She can’t really be blamed for feeling this way anyhow. Zal’riva has been on her mind more than usual as of late and the distance between them is really getting to her.  


* * *

  
Despite the recent changes that some of the crew members of the Tempest has had to experience, there’s still usually a lot of activity in the ship, even when Jaesa and Vette are not there. If Zal’riva doesn’t receive guests of some kind or utilizes the ship for troop transport, then it will at least see smaller movements in terms of 2V-R8 cleaning the interior, Broonmark or Pierce working out, or like today, when Zal sits down with Quinn for a weekly update of not just their schedule, but developments around the Empire.

Quinn certainly has responsibilities elsewhere nowadays, but something he has refused to relinquish is his position on the Tempest, a role which may resemble that of an assistant. Zal has reassured him that she can acquire other ones of lower rank, to help them get some training, but Quinn has insisted that she deserves the best and that he still wants to serve her. Part of her believes he continues to blame himself for betraying her, even if she has forgiven him, but as he’s her friend, she won’t discard him.

“My lord, we have received reports from the Dark Council, or Ensign Daimort of Darth Imperius’ office specifically. It’s a rundown of topics discussed during the last gathering of the Councilors, as well as battle reports from various districts that we have not yet visited.”

They both have their own datapad displays to look at, but Quinn always makes sure they remain on the same page. However, at this time, Zal has difficulties to focus, even if she pretends that she doesn’t.  
“Of course.”

“Then there’s obviously the information you wanted to acquire for Vette’s…cause. I find these of less importance, but I have made sure to have them secured. I believe you wanted to discuss them first.”

“Mm, I do.”

Quinn watches her curiously, seeing how her eyes are locked at the display, but he still feels somewhat skeptical.  
“Perhaps we should start with another subject. I was wondering, what is your opinion regarding the request sent from the Emperor’s Hand, my lord? They mentioned something about an assignment to target a specific Republic installation. I presume you have some doubts.”

“That’s true. I have thought about it.”

Not quite what he wanted to hear, but it does help him realize what’s going on. Clearing his throat, he chooses to put down the datapad and faces her properly.  
“My lord, I do not wish to question you but, you seem…preoccupied somehow.”

Zal suddenly blinks, looks up and turns towards him.  
“What? Oh, sorry.”  
She decides to shake her head, hoping to leave the depths of her thoughts.  
“I didn’t mean to ignore you, Quinn. I suppose I have a few things on my mind that distracts me.”

She doesn’t explain herself, but doesn’t need to. He knows what’s happening and pushes a button to display the time on the pad.  
“The hour for the call is soon upon us, I suppose?”

Her expression gets infused with notions of guilt as she raises her hand up to her neck. One of her lekkus curl itself up and around her wrist, an automatic enhancement of this display.  
“I…suppose that’s true, yes.”

Quinn snorts amusedly and chooses to close the applications on his device for now.  
“Well, perhaps it would be best if I let you prepare instead.”

“What? Quinn, come now, let’s not be ridiculous! I can handle two things at once.”

He offers her a small smile.  
“You can, my lord, but I know how important this is to you. You won’t be able to think of much else. The schedule will not run away from us, so we can deal with it later.”

Emitting a heavy sigh, Zal leans back in her chair and folds her arms.  
“You probably have a point. Thank you for understanding, my friend.”  


* * *

  
As the correct time finally arrives, despite the vast distance between them in the galaxy and the many obstacles which would seem to be in their way, the special holographic projectors with two-way communication measures that they utilize, starts up, searches their one frequency and establishes the connection.  
Holograms appear on both the Shielded Path and the Tempest, with both women smiling as soon as they see it.

“Hello there, gorgeous”, Zal says, breaking the initial silence.  
“That’s a very nice set of robes you’re wearing today. A new one?”

Ktila arches her brow momentarily, before she looks down at the purple clothes adorning her body.  
“What, this one? No, no, I’ve had it for a while. Just don’t tend to wear it when you call.”

“Huh. Why not? It looks great on you.”

The chiss can’t help but roll her eyes, even if she still smiles.  
“You say that about anything I wear.”

“Only because it’s true. And it does match my eyes too.”  
Her gaze soon travels further up, towards the grey shawl held around Ktila’s neck and shoulders.  
“I’m glad to see you appreciate my gift.”

“Of course. It’s very soft and keeps me warm even during bad days.”  
That she has those isn’t really a question. It’s the reality of being so far away from someone she cares for to this extent.  
Ktila soon studies Zal as well. Even without proper irises, the twi’lek can still spot a hint of amusement within those eyes.  
“Sad to see that you’re not in your training gear this time.”

Zal is wearing her grey coat, of course, but also a set of black pants and a blue shirt. No socks, as she wants to feel the carpet below.  
She smirks as she plants her hands at her hips.  
“Is that so? Want to see me sweat, huh?”

“Always.”

“Tsk. Sorry, darling, not today. Besides, you can’t smell it over the hologram, you know.”

Ktila rolls her eyes once more.  
“That’s what you like to do, not me!”

“If you prefer to deny the truth, go ahead. But I know what you’re like, my dear. Can’t hide it from me.”

Despite all the earlier anxiety and stress over the risk that she wouldn’t get to experience this conversation today, hearing Zal’s voice seems to have a soothing effect. Ktila even allows herself to giggle at Zal’s teasing.  
“You’re ridiculous.”  
Shortly after, she exhales audibly.  
“I apologize for the call being a few minutes late, by the way. Something had happened to my projector.”

A solemn expression descends upon Zal’s face, although not necessarily of concern just yet.  
“Oh? What was it?”

“I don’t know. Could be that it was worn out, or maybe some malfunctioning parts. T7 fixed it, anyway. We’re gonna see if we can make some upgrades before next time.”

“Ah, well, as long as it works, I suppose. Don’t worry about being completely on time, however. I don’t really mind. It’s not like I always make it when I should either. Everyone has bad luck occasionally.”

She doesn’t know if Zal is merely trying to ease her mind or not, but Ktila can’t say she’s quite as unfazed by it. The fear of the machine breaking down completely is still hiding beneath the surface, threatening to erupt if anything goes wrong.  
Trying to remove it from her thoughts, she takes a few steps back and sits down on her sofa again, crossing her legs.  
“I’m just glad I get to see and talk to you, even if it’s from a distance.” The story of their entire relationship thus far.  
“How have you been doing since we last spoke?”

Taking a deep breath, Zal also finds a good spot to rest against, but uses the closest wall instead and folds her arms.  
“Oh, you know, I’m fine for the most part, but everything is rather hectic. There’s constantly a lot to do as of late and sometimes I have problems keeping up with my schedule. If it wasn’t for Quinn, I’d probably be defeated by my own organizational failings.”

“Anything new or just the usual?”

“Hmm, both, I guess. Battles to fight, developments in the Dark Council to listen to and general activity with the Sith overall is pretty much daily life here. And then there’s the constant reminders that I need to do more for my people, to change their situation in the Empire. Val does help take some of the load off, with Vette and Jaesa obviously being very deeply involved with such activities.”

“They aren’t doing more than they can deal with, are they?”

Zal smiles and shrugs.  
“Sometimes, I’m not sure. Vette is always very adamant to achieve swift changes and she likes to put those thoughts into action. Jaesa is more cautious, but Vette is really starting to convince her it’s the only way.  
However, with Jaesa’s promotion, she seems determined to alter her approach somewhat, taking a similar one to mine. I don’t think she’ll follow it completely but, I don’t intend to guide her either way. She chooses her own path.”

“I suppose you’re right. I just hope they don’t get into more trouble than they can handle.”  
She suddenly chuckles.  
“Although, I guess they can always run to lord Wrath if that would be the case.”

“Pff, I can’t solve every problem they get into. That’s why I always advise them to think carefully before they act.”

Ktila nods curtly.  
“It’s a good recommendation, if they wish to continue what they’re doing.  
As for me, well, I’ve found myself in a similar predicament as you.”  
Once more, she also becomes more serious, troubled by the thought of her current situation.  
“There’s a lot being asked of me, from both the Republic and the Jedi. Sometimes, I…I wonder if the responsibilities are becoming too heavy. It’s…difficult to find the right answer.”

Zal obviously knows what she’s talking about, as they’re practically on the same page. They falter a lot of the time on the same issues, as they have to face the reality of fighting for their homes, while their hearts linger elsewhere.  
She realizes that the mood of this conversation will continue to fall if someone doesn’t steer it in another direction. Might as well be her.

“Well, everything hasn’t been gloomy here. Vette, Jaesa and I went to a festival the other week, on Bosthirda.”

Ktila’s attention shifts back to her and another smile seems to crawl onto her lips.  
“Oh? What kind of festival?”

“Ah, I’m not entirely sure, but it seems to have been a regional event in one of the areas on the southern hemisphere of that world. Something about honoring some proud group of ancestors from the distant past.”  
She shrugs.  
“I didn’t really ask much, because I was too focused on the activities they had available. Some contests related to the celebration, lots of music, food and an abundance of spicy drinks. My presence wasn’t specifically required, but I felt like coming for a surprise visit. Val’s girlfriend had sent me a message about it.”

“Hah, okay. And they didn’t mind?”

Zal tilts her head with a smirk on her lips.  
“You think they’d try to stop the Wrath from joining their festivities?  
Honestly, though, they seemed to be quite honored. I wasn’t actually sure if I wanted to be there, but Val convinced me.  
The whole thing ended up being a lot more fun than any of us expected, especially for Vette.”

As she talks, Ktila has been leaning back further into her seat and her whole pose seems to have relaxed; a clear effect from listening to Zal.  
“Vette had fun at a Sith party?”

“Well, it wasn’t specifically dedicated to the Sith, you know. I suppose she might’ve seen it that way, however.  
On the second day, she chose to attend some kind of drinking contest and ended up in rather peculiar duel against a pureblood.”  
She smiles wistfully as she gains flashbacks from that time.  
“I don’t know how the hell she did it, but she managed to win somehow, which surprised a lot of people, even Jaesa. The only problem with this, however, was the aftermath. She has gotten fairly drunk before and I will admit that she can be quite resistant to hangovers, but she had never experienced the type of drinks they had on that contest. She had to hide away for practically the entire day after, just whining and curling up in Jaesa’s lap.”

Ktila had been smiling during each section of the story, but ends up laughing towards the finish.  
“Damn, wish I had been there.”

“I do too.”

“Although, I have a feeling that if Kira had been around, she’d probably spend that entire day after trying to tease Vette about it. Might’ve made things worse.”

This notion only amuses Zal, and she shrugs.  
“Maybe, but that’s what she deserves for getting into it to begin with. You’re free to inform Kira of this if you want to.”

“Hey, c’mon now, let’s not interfere with their relationship. That’s their concern, not ours.”

“Meh, you’re no fun.  
Besides, you give Kira less credit than she deserves. Vette has informed me that she can be very understanding, much more so than how it used to be. They mess around with each other, sure, but that’s apparently just part of the charm.”

“True. I caught Kira preparing some type of gift for Vette pretty recently.”

Zal raises an eyebrow in mild surprise.  
“Gift?”

“Yeah, for their anniversary. I don’t know when the date is but, Kira wanted to have one for both of them.”

Now that she considers it, Zal can’t remember ever knowing the exact date that those three got together either.  
“Huh. Well, that only proves my point. She cares a lot about her partners.  
Anyhow, you’ve heard me doing something fun. What about you? Done anything entertaining as of late?”

Ktila starts to nibble at her lower lip and changes which leg is crossed over the other before she can decide upon a response.  
“Erm, not anything that can compare to what you did, I think.  
We’ve been a bit too occupied here to actually attend any social events, and Jedi are often discouraged from doing so anyway. Not that anyone would decline us, but…”

“Heh, yes, you have mentioned how boring your superiors can be. Never really understood how ‘fun’ can lead to the dark side.”

It’s said with a rather humorous tone, as they never really discuss this topic all too seriously. They both realize what the truth of the matter is.  
“That said, I have been doing some stuff to occupy my mind while you’re not here.”

“Like what?”

“I’ve been trying to catch up on a lot of the latest holovids in the past year or two. It may be war in some parts of the galaxy, but that doesn’t stop this industry. Kira and Vette have been sending me a bunch of recommendations, some which I’ve found very fascinating.”

Zal looks at her with interest, although she isn’t specifically into the same type of entertainment. Zal is more of a social creature than Ktila, preferring to spend her time with friends, and even when she indulges in something art related, she leans more towards books.  
“Oh? What are you usually into?”

“Uh, a lot of drama and romantic shows, I guess, although I prefer if they don’t stroll too close to melodrama.”

“Romance, huh? Fascinating.”

Ktila tries to contain her embarrassed laughter, while she shakes her head.  
“Don’t tease me.”

“I’m not. Merely observing, that’s all.”

“Sure, you are.  
Oh yeah, Vette tried to provide me with some recorded Sith opera, but…I quickly realized it’s not really my thing.”

Zal chuckles at this fact.  
“Why am I not surprised?”

“Well, I mean…I guess the performers were pretty good? The story was a bit too much for me, though. Think they can tone it down a notch, at least for me to enjoy it.”

“Hey, no need to defend yourself, darling. It has never really been to my taste either.”

Ktila isn’t particularly surprised over this, as Zal has never expressed an interest for either music or visual performance anyhow.  
“Really? Aww. So, that means you won’t be inviting me to one at Dromund Kaas, when the war is over?”

Zal is just about to dismiss it, before she stops herself and considers another aspect.  
“Well...possibly. Would you be wearing a dress?”

Another laughter from the chiss.  
“You don’t have to invite me to opera for that, you know.”

“Ohh, why didn’t you tell me of this earlier? Now we definitely need to arrange for something special the next time we’re able to meet.”

Ktila feels like the conversation is naturally coming to some sort of conclusion, where they’ll just express their feelings, but she wants to bring up one more topic before they go.  
“Oh yeah, there’s another thing I didn’t mention earlier.”

“Go on.”

“Lately, I’ve been doing a, uh…a personal thing, I guess. Every now and then, I try to make some video recordings, where I talk about the dreams I’ve had.”  
She frowns momentarily.  
“Erm, I avoid anything about…you know, an obvious subject, but I try to record anything else that could be connected to my daily life, no matter how insignificant they may seem.”

Zal’s expression has grown more solemn, but not out of concern. She seems fascinated and curious instead.  
“I see. How come you chose to do this?”

Ktila shrugs in return.  
“I don’t know. I’m not sure why but, I had this feeling a few months ago that it would be interesting to do some kind of dream diary. Maybe they’ll be of use some day.”

One of Zal’s lekkus begins to move, bumping somewhat against her arm, as a sign of that she’s probably thinking about it.  
“It is true that dreams can be fairly useful. The Force might bring us signs of something we hadn’t otherwise considered. I also hear tales regarding the significance of dreams in other cultures, of how they connect with all sorts of facets of reality.  
If possible, I would love to see those recordings at some point.”

“Of course, you can watch as many as you like.”  
Even if it’s meant as a gentle indication of things they can do together in the future, it only reminds Ktila of the truth of their relationship.  
“I…I miss you, Zal. All the time. Not a day goes by where I don’t spend at least an hour thinking of you.”

She doesn’t see it, as Zal’s hands are hidden beneath her arms, but they clench somewhat when she realizes how heavily those words affect her.  
“I feel the same. But, perhaps we could set up a meeting soon? I have a few days off in two weeks or so.”

Ktila exhales and shakes her head.  
“Sorry, I don’t have more than a few hours here and there, at least for the next month or two. Unless anything remarkable happens, I guess.”

“Ah, that’s unfortunate. Perhaps things will have changed during our next call?”

Ktila lowers her gaze down to her hands and she begins to fidget with them, stroking her fingers together, but wishing they were entwined with someone else’s.  
“Sometimes, I wonder, like…how much either of us can endure.”

It’s not the first time Ktila has expressed doubt, even though it tends to be forgotten when they’re actually together.  
“Ktila…you know I don’t want to hurt you.”

The chiss sighs and shakes her head.  
“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m talking about the Jedi and the Republic. They’ve started to annoy me with a lot of what they do. I try to get involved, try to make them see, but…I can’t stop any of it. Everything just seems to get worse the longer things keep going.”  
She slowly looks up again, locking her eyes with Zal’s.  
“I don’t want another war in this galaxy that lasts decades. We can’t allow that.”

She doesn’t explicitly say it, but there’s a question which lingers in the depths of her mind, one that she has attempted to push down, but which keeps growing stronger: are the Jedi really worth it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _No, this doesn't mean we'll be seeing "Lord Ktila" at any point. That's just so far removed from who she is as a person. However, there will be some other developments soon enough._   
>  _In fact, I have another Ktila chapter planned in two weeks, and I think that's gonna be quite interesting._
> 
> _As for next week, both those chapters will focus on Reezah and Cierah._


	59. Mechanical crypt (IA + Tr)

A loud, extended and practically pained screech is emitted from the metal door as they forcefully pry it open, pushing its limits in order to get inside when the automated processes show not to be functional. It’s not like it was a surprise, due to how frozen this vessel has become in the area it crashed into, but it has been very inconvenient for the team’s progress.  
Once Scorpio seems to be done with the latest one however, she steps aside and lets Cierah walk in first, rifle kept in her hands at all times, sweeping the area with its sight. The road up to this point has not been easy to travel, due to all the traps and security systems, which only seemed to be waiting to take them down. It’s interesting how such things managed to survive, while most other sections of the ship are practically frozen solid. Thankfully, they’re now close to where they need to be.

It was only about a week ago that they received information from Nevasc, the freshest type of intel which the chiss agent could give them. There’s a specific entity that they’ve been looking to recover, but had problems doing so on their own. Information about it is very scarce and it even took Nevasc quite a bit of effort to succeed.  
Eventually, they were pointed in the direction of Belsavis, within one of the frozen areas of this planet, which is what most of the surface is like. Not so long ago, this world was nothing more than an enormous prison, hidden away from the common awareness of the galaxy, but ever since the Empire found its location it has been turned into a warzone, something which still lingers. Thankfully, that’s not the case in this district.

Most of the time if Cierah intends to complete a mission discreetly, she chooses to do so alone, but that seemed unwise this time around. She knew there’d be traps and probably locked doors which she can’t get through by slicing them. And what if either one of the former prisoner gangs or the Republic runs into her? Or even the Empire.  
At this time, she’s accompanied by everyone except Lokin, who’s currently available over comms while he’s waiting inside the Rogue Warden. After Cierah scans the path ahead for any threats, she gestures with a nod and lets Kaliyo take point. Cierah and Raina move in the middle, being most capable to react with support for either side, while Scorpio and Vector bring up the rear. 

Most of the team are dressed for the climate as well, wearing light armors beneath warm coats and pants. Not the best thing if they face tougher opposition, but Cierah doubts this will occur. Even the security systems here haven’t been particularly hefty, with the worst ones most likely having malfunctioned in the thick ice. Unfortunately, this also worries her regarding their goal. What if that has been destroyed too? This whole trip will have been for naught, including the resources they put into finding it.

As they utilize their flashlights to see the right path, they eventually run into one more obstacle.  
“Another door”, Cierah says calmly. “You’re up, Scorpio.”

Scorpio’s cold and mechanical gaze faces her for only a moment, before waking past them all and approaches the door.  
“I would like to remind you, Draconius, that I am not crafted for this type of task. It is an inefficient and illogical use of my skills.”

“Perhaps, but you are the one with the most physical power and strength, unless we wish to plant explosives. This is much smoother and less destructive.”

Kaliyo takes Scorpio’s position while the droid moves up to the door and begins to push her fingers into the gaps, finding a way to bend it open.  
“Besides, you’ve got no reason to complain”, the rattataki states. "You’re not the one who has to freeze her fucking ass off.”  
This is not the first time Kaliyo complains about the cold since they arrived.  
“I hate this place. Couldn’t your chiss pal have found us a planet which doesn’t have an ice age right now? Or a ship without a million traps?”

Cierah probably expected this to be mentioned again, although not that Nevasc would suddenly be blamed. It makes the agent roll her eye.  
“You don’t honestly believe it was up to her, do you?”

Next to her, Raina nods in agreement.  
“Nevasc only found the location for us, Kaliyo. She couldn’t decide where it would be.”

The rattataki shakes her head.  
“Yeah, yeah, I know that. I still think this could’ve been done better.”

“Done better? How? She couldn’t alter the position of where this ship landed.”

Kaliyo shrugs.  
“Meh, I don’t know. Maybe there’s more of these? I’m sure she could’ve found them instead of like the worst shipment in the worst place of the galaxy.”

Raina views her skeptically.  
“I’m fairly certain there are much worse places to be on than here. What about Quesh? The atmosphere on that world is poisonous.”

“Sure, but you only have to wear a mask there. In this region, I’m still cold as fuck, even if I’m wearing five layers of shirts. How the hell does that work?”

“Well, I suppose we could’ve worn better environmental suits instead, as a shirt isn’t necessarily the most effective measure against cold. But at least the air isn’t deadly.”

She gains a snort from Kaliyo.  
“If you think this cold won’t be deadly in the long run, you’re an idiot.”

Cierah sighs heavily, having had enough.  
“Kaliyo, please shut up. I’m tired of your constant complaints. We won’t get away from this area faster with endless chatter.”

Kaliyo glances towards her, frowning slightly but then shakes her head and mutters. Cierah can accept that much at least. It’s better than having to actually hear it.  
Shortly after, the noise from the door stops and Scorpio turns towards them.  
“If it is any consolation to your feeble forms, our path is now clear.”

“Good. Kaliyo, go evaluate the situation inside.”

“Whatever”, she says, but does as she’s told and moves ahead, rifle held high. 

As she proceeds, Vector moves up to stop next to their leader, his black eyes turned towards her and he speaks low as to not be overheard.  
“Cierah, if you would prefer, we are able to administrator a special concoction crafted inside our hives, which would have a temporary silencing effect. It would help to decrease the noises from certain members of our team.”

The agent looks at him with a humorous glint in her eye and then shakes her head.  
“Thank you, Vector, but I think I’ll pass on that. It might be amusing, but only until she decides to get revenge. And she would.”

“We would be willing to endure it, if this is what you prefer.”

“I know you are, but it’s not necessary. Let us focus on the mission. The sooner we complete it, the quicker we’ll all get back on the Warden.”

“As you say.”

It is only moments after this that Kaliyo speaks to them from the other room.  
“You guys better get in here. Think I’ve found what we’re looking for.”

Everyone else immediately falls into the positions they had earlier, with Cierah coming in right after Kaliyo.  
Just like the rattataki told them, they do appear to be in the right section of the ship and even though she has never been inside of it before, Cierah can easily recognize imperial design. The entire room is filled with ice and frost, but the frozen consoles, panels, gridded floor, red and black lamps, as well as the entire pattern of the walls are all very familiar to her.  
The only real difference in here are the huge steel containers positioned far up on each wall, with force fields that are surprisingly enough still active. Every single container appears to have several dozen droids, most of which are probably processed and brought out from the large machine in the center. It’s unclear if any of these droids are still functional.

Cierah gives the room another quick sweep with her eye, before she turns her attention to the console by the machine.  
“Good, then let us see what their current situation is.”  
Everyone else backs her up while she strides forward. She would never be so foolish as to not keep her guard up, of course, but she’s also somewhat excited to finally having reached the goal. Before she gets there, however, she activates some internal communications implants, which is done automatically.  
“Lokin, are you there? We have arrived at the package's destination.”

It doesn’t take long for the old man’s jovial voice to be heard on the other end. At least their connection to him is still strong, which she’s thankful for.  
“Ah, finally? Good to hear! I’ll file it in the ship’s logs. Is there any chance that you could give me a status update of the tech within?”

“We are looking into it now. Hold.”  
She is the only one to proceed to the console itself and she’s glad that it has enough power to be accessed, even if just barely. Unfortunately, the results of the search inside the system isn’t positive.  
“Hmm. At this time, a lot of them appears to have lost functionality, or the containers they’re held within cannot be accessed. Let me do a broader search and see what we might get.”

Once more, they hear a groan from Kaliyo.  
“Great. Just great. So, not only are we in the most fucked up place on this whole planet, but our reward for making it this far might not even be working?  
Sometimes, I don’t understand why the hell I’m still with you guys…”

“Kaliyo, please. I need to concentrate”, Cierah says in an even but firm voice.

Raina hopes to assist her mentor and smiles as she walks up to Kaliyo, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
“Hey, let’s not disturb the Cipher, shall we? I’m certain she will be able to succeed. We can patrol the area a bit, if you want.”

The slightly older woman turns towards her and arches a skeptical brow.  
“What, so I can see more ice? Think I’ve had enough of that.”

“Perhaps, but the more you move around, the less cold you’ll be.”

“Oh, great, so instead of becoming an actual icicle, I might have to settle for a popsicle, huh?”

Raina chuckles gently.  
“Well, I guess that might be plausible, or maybe we could try to see if we can locate one of this ship’s kitchens? Maybe their water boiler still works and we can make some tea to stay warm.”

Even if Raina tries to cheer her up, Kaliyo doesn’t seem particularly convinced.  
“You’re living in a dream, Temple. If the droids aren’t even working, I don’t think anything like that will have survived.”

“You may be right, but it’s worth a try, isn’t it?”

While they discuss this, Cierah momentarily glances towards the other pair.  
“Scorpio, Vector, there’s a few other entrances into this room. Inspect them while I finalize these diagnostics.”

“As you wish, Cierah”, Vector says and starts moving. 

Scorpio follows him, but she doesn’t leave before staring at Cierah for a short while.  
“Do you believe you will find any pleasure in shackling a droid to yourself, Draconius?”

Cierah sighs and shakes her head, doing her best to ignore the AI’s attempt to unnerve her.  
“That’s an interesting term to utilize, Scorpio, because that is not my intention. I am only looking for another ally.  
Besides, you should not be so offended. This won’t be the same thing as our connection.”

“Of course it will not, as I am not a droid. The synthetic individuals you seek are so far beneath my station that this would not even be a fair comparison.”

While she doesn’t actually say it out loud, Cierah briefly wonders if there’s something else at play here. Is Scorpio jealous, perhaps? That has never happened before and it might actually be foolish to consider herself to have such importance in the droid’s life. It’s also possible to believe that Scorpio finds more kinship with these ones than she’s willing to admit.  
Either way, Cierah does not have the will nor the time to ask. It’s best left for another day.

During the scanning and unlocking process which Cierah is doing her best to speed up, Lokin’s voice is heard over the comms again.  
“Cipher, I have some news regarding our situation, but it is not positive. I can read movement inside the Fatality, something which our scanners hadn’t picked up before.”

This makes her stop what she’s doing and turns to look over her shoulder, seeing how both Kaliyo and Raina does the same, deciding that it might be best to wait with Cierah after all.  
“Can you identify them?”

“Negative, but it is definitely living organisms at least.”

Damn. She had hoped they’d be left alone here. Perhaps someone was scouting this area out, or were lying in wait for the ship to be unlocked?  
Cierah exhales.  
“Can you provide us with a more exact goal or update on their current location?” 

“Unfortunately, due to the disturbances inside the ship, I only receive brief flashes. The sensors have difficulties penetrating it at this stage, but from what I could see earlier, I believe they’re coming in your direction from the north. That would be the most logical conclusion.”

Cierah frowns and shakes her head, before she raises her voice towards the other two.  
“Both of you, place yourselves at the northern exit. Kaliyo, take the terminal on the left and you hide behind the machinery on the right, Raina.”

They immediately move to execute her orders, while Cierah continues to access the droids. She has a limited time window here, but hopes to be able to at least activate some defenses before she’s done.  
A couple of minutes later, she hears that she’s out of time, as there are noises from the other side of the door. Getting her sniper up, Cierah runs in behind some frozen consoles in the center of the room, hoping that she won’t be too exposed.

Compared to the Cipher’s team, however, this other one appears to have sacrificed subtlety in order to gain speed. Some kind of detonation is utilized on the other side, blowing the doors open and a team of six all run inside.  
This group is equipped with a lot of heavy and rather expensive equipment, distinguishing them from normal soldier. By looking at familiar symbols, along with the blue and white colors, though, it’s not difficult to guess where they’re from.  
The squad contains one very large droid on three legs and two arms with guns attached, one female human, one male cathar, a gand and weequay. All of them are being led by a fairly tall female togruta, who stands at the front. 

The droid is the one to speak first.  
“Enemy troops located! Activating combat protocols!”

The weequay glance around with a little bit of confusion.  
“Uh, enemies? Where?”

The togruta frowns.  
“Open your eyes, Vik. They’re right in front of us.”

Suddenly, Kaliyo and Raina both move behind their covers, although just enough to put their guns on top of the makeshift barricades. They don’t want to be too visible.  
Cierah aims her sniper rifle directly at the leader, who seems to be returning the favor with her own blaster rifle.  
“I wouldn’t be so eager to strike just yet, Republic. You are surrounded.”

As soon as she says it, she sees how the light blue eyes of the togruta locks her own grey, and there’s a determination and fearlessness which few others are able to face her with, despite how exposed she is.  
Vik chuckles as he now manages to aim at the one on his side, which happens to be Kaliyo.  
“Ah, there they are. Who knew they’d just be lying around like this, huh?”

The woman at the front frowns, before she speaks up loudly and firmly.  
“You, identify yourselves right now and tells us what you’re doing here! We will be forced to fire if you don’t”, she says, the command in her voice being very apparent.

Cierah merely arches her brow.  
“That’s an interesting choice, seeing as how you are not in any position to make demands.”

Kaliyo smirks.  
“Hah, isn’t that what the Reps always do? In fact, we were here first. How about you assholes tell us who you are, huh?”

The togruta glances between them, likely trying to assess the situation.  
“That’s not how this works. You are outnumbered and we have the superior firepower.  
Who do you work for? Are you here to meet your contact?”

This question catches them somewhat off-guard, making Kaliyo and Cierah share a gaze.  
“Contact?”, Cierah asks.

Kaliyo shrugs nonchalantly.  
“Uh, dunno what you’re on about, but we don’t work for anyone.”

The blonde human standing right next to the togruta in charge speaks up next, and interestingly enough, Cierah notes an imperial accent from her.  
“Sir, the rattataki is unlikely to be imperial by her manner, accent and stance, but I am certain that the other two are.  
However, neither of them look like the typical black ops group from the Empire. They utilize a very rigid system, as far as I’m aware.”

Kaliyo grins as she hears it.  
“What, is that supposed to be an insult? I don’t like being compared to imps anyway.”

The human arches her brow in mild surprise.  
“No insult was intended. It was merely an observation.”

“We are not currently affiliated with the Empire”, Cierah tells the group, “but that does not mean we are allies of the Republic. However, I recognize certain parts of this team of yours, especially the one in charge.  
You are Major Reezah Hiktesh, leader of Havoc Squad, one of the foremost units in the Republic special forces division.”

She sees how the togruta frowns, which somehow pleases Cierah.  
“You’re well-informed, but that’s not exactly impressive. A lot of military groups know of Havoc, even if not specifically my face. We’ve earned our reputation.”

They hear another laughter from Kaliyo.  
“Oh man, a spec ops group? This is gonna be fun! Gotta thank the reps after this is done, I think, for sending us some proper drones to kill for once.”

The cathar, which Cierah identifies as Lieutenant Aric Jorgan, frowns at her.  
“Do you ever shut up? The discipline in your group must be incredibly shitty.”

The grin she displays now turns from eager to vicious, letting Cierah know that she’s definitely getting ready to fight.  
“Only if my enemies stop being such wimps and give me a challenge. Or are you gonna blame your lack of guts on the discipline?”

Aric grits his teeth and grips his rifle harder.  
“Don’t worry about this flank, sir. I’ll take care of her.”

“Hah, that’s more like it!”

Reezah sighs annoyedly.  
“Dammit, stand down! We’re not here to bicker, nor to fight. Not yet, anyhow. You could give us the information we need right now, or surrender and let us discuss it elsewhere.  
Either way, we won’t start any battles, as long as you’re willing to cooperate. It’ll certainly be easier to answer questions if you do the former.”

There’s a hint of amusement in Cierah’s gaze.  
“Ah, I see. ‘Surrender now or die in a second’. I can see that your negotiations skills are of the highest degree.”

Kaliyo chuckles.  
“Well hey, I’ve always loved the ones who prefer to shoot first and ask questions later. It’s a policy I’ve used for years.”

Reezah tries to ignore the rattataki now, focusing Cierah instead, who sits furthest away from the group.  
“You’re in charge here, right? I get that sense anyhow.  
All we want is answers about your contact or at the very least where they are. No one has to get injured or die if you simply tell us.”

That’s the second time she has mentioned this and Cierah isn’t even sure what to say.  
“What are you talking about? You will have to specify which contact.”

“Don’t give me that shit, imperial! You think I’m gonna buy your feigned ignorance now? We’ve hunted them long enough to realize they operate with stealth and treachery.  
You know what I mean and I don’t want to hear any more excuses.”

Well then, this is quite a mess. Apparently, Cierah’s group has stumbled into something unexpected or maybe simply a situation where this Republic squad has somehow been tricked.  
She will admit that it’s not a very bright scenario, though. They are definitely outnumbered at this stage and even if Havoc are in the open, she bets that a single shot won’t be enough to take any of them down.  
However, she thankfully doesn’t have to consider it, as she picks up other noises nearby, ones that doesn’t belong to the environment or any of these people. She can work with that.

“Once again, Major, I will have to give you the same answer. I do not know who you believe we are, but whatever that might be, it’s not the case.”  
From the corridor behind the Republic soldiers - the area where they just came from - Scorpio and Vector reveal themselves and aim their guns at the targets in the middle.  
“That said, with us now having you completely surrounded and the upper hand, the positions of negotiation has unfortunately shifted.”

The three-legged droid and the gand turn around to let their weapons face the new arrivals, but they are at a slight disadvantage, due to the other duo being able to use the corners of the corridor as cover.  
Reezah frowns, clearly not enjoying this change, but she won’t be deterred.  
“Okay, you’ve almost evened out the score, but that doesn’t specifically give you the advantage.”

“That may be the case from your point of view, but I believe you have underestimated our numbers and firepower, Major.”

Even more sounds can be captured in the area, but this time from inside the room. None of the metal containers by the walls show any signs of activity, but the machine in the middle now seems to have regained enough power to start up. One of the plates that protect the interior begins to slide open, having to crush ice and rusty joints along the way, until it can reveal what it hides.  
As soon as enough of it is unveiled, a being steps out from the darkness, wielding a long blaster rifle, which it immediately aims at the Republic group.

“Declaration: Self-diagnostics – Complete. Assassination protocols – Active. All systems – Go.  
Salutation: Greetings, master. I am HK-51. I am armed, operational and at your command.  
Statement: It appears you are in the vicinity of undesirables, master. If you should command it, I can dispose of them at your convenience.”

The next look shared with Reezah isn’t one the togruta is satisfied with, as Cierah seems particularly smug.  
“Perhaps we should alter the terms of this negotiation, Major, before you are completely overrun?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _There is a follow-up chapter on Saturday._


	60. Forsaken burial (IA + Tr)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Seriously, for every Cierah chapter, I always listen to the various Shadowrun soundtracks released by Harebrained Schemes. It's not entirely suitable (I mean, she's not exactly that kind of criminal, is she?), but the tunes fit the mood I'm in when she's involved._
> 
> _Also, my version of the Fatality was a little bit more intact then it might have been in-game. Just keep that in mind._

A thick silence permeates the room, increasing its presence to such a degree that a single movement is enough to practically create echoes and get the attention of everyone involved.  
It’s undeniable at this point what a difficult position that Havoc has put themselves in, even if they believed that all the necessary precautions had been taken. Then again, none of them could really have predicted how they’d be faced with such capable opposition, ones thinking on a tactical stage several steps ahead. 

With all the guns of the opposing team aimed at hers, Reezah knows that she needs to make a decision soon or quickly find herself losing several members, perhaps even her own life. It is unclear exactly what is on her mind at this time, but the fearless façade she built up is slowly breaking, revealing a sense of doubt. She continues to glare at Cierah regardless, not lowering her weapon.  
“If you think I’m afraid of another droid, you’re mistaken.” 

“Well, then perhaps I need to enlighten you to the fact that this is no mere droid.  
This is a Hunter-Killer assassin droid of the 51 series, one of the most efficient and latest versions; deployed by czerka, but developed much longer ago. It is one of the most lethal and competent killers in the galaxy, so much so that the Republic outright banned them.”

The droid apparently sees this as a cue to boast.  
“Explanation: I am capable of a multitude of actions, beyond mere organic capabilities. In a few seconds, I can reach a speed of 100 kilometers per hour, the durability of my chassis is enough to withstand several blaster-capable weapons and I am equipped with an M-600 demolisher blaster rifle – with a sniper rifle attachment – capable of an optimum range of 300 to 1000 meters.  
Statement: I am built and optimized for one single purpose – ending the life of individuals deemed as undesirables by my master.” 

Vik rolls his eyes.  
“Alright, alright, we get it, you believe you can do a lot of impressive shit. That’s gonna look pretty pathetic if you can’t actually deliver later on, you know.”

Kaliyo smirks.  
“He’s got a point.”

It appears that M1-4X is not about to accept what he hears however and turns to look at HK-51.  
“There’s no need to fear, sir! No imperial, even another droid, is a match for my extraordinary tactics and combat capabilities. I shall neutralize it on your command.”

HK’s yellow lights, which is where its visual sensors are placed, turns towards the other droid.  
“Counterargument: Incorrect. This model is a classic assault droid, utilized by the Republic and several other factions for generations. What advantages it contains on firepower and defensive plates, it lacks in speed, movement and sensor capabilities.  
Reassurance: I shall have this machine dismantled within seconds, master.”

Everyone else seems to realize where the current situation is at, and by Reezah’s frown, she does too. No matter what angle they take, this will get ugly. But what other options do they have?  
On her side, Elara is glancing right towards her, clearly having understood what position she’s in.  
“Major, I believe we may have to reassess our strategy. Perhaps a peaceful solution to this scenario might be a desirable choice, to minimize losses.”

Further away, from the central consoles, Cierah watches their expressions as carefully as possible, opening her mechanical eye with some internal processes and scans their interaction. It appears that Reezah softens somewhat at the suggestion, clearly being amenable to what the human has to say.  
The Major sighs and her gaze is no longer as determined as it was before.  
“Alright, I suppose we all know what might happen if we don’t act with caution here. If you and your team lower your weapons, mine will do the same. Maybe we can end this through negotiation after all.”

Vik arches his brow slightly, looking somewhat disappointed.  
“We’re just gonna give up? That’s not Havoc’s style, Hiktesh.”

“Shut up, Vik.”

Kaliyo seems to be of the same mind as the weequay and frowns towards Reezah.  
“Oh, fuck off. We don’t want any of that Rep banthashit.”  
She glances towards her own leader.  
“You’re not actually listening to this crap, right? It’s better and easier for us if we just shoot ‘em.”

Cierah isn’t quite on the same page however, and she shakes her head.  
“I disagree. This squad may have useful information which we might want to attain and I will not kill any of them before we make sure.  
That said, I will admit that I do not trust Republic soldiers, least of all Havoc squad. You are the very incarnation of supposed Republic bravery and conquest. Giving in to your wishes stands against everything that I have ever learned.”

And so, the doorway that Elara opened slams shut again, with Reezah scowling at Cierah, not ready to stand down.  
“Then we’re at a bit of an impasse, aren’t we? We won’t go down without a fight.”

However, all is not lost, mostly due to the fact that Elara is not alone in what the most preferable conclusion would be.  
Raina shifts her attention to Cierah, but tries not to lose sight of their enemies.  
“Sir, I do not wish to question your decision but, the possibility of us sustaining losses in a battle within this confined space, especially against such skilled soldiers as Havoc squad, is very likely.”

“Yes, I’m aware”, Cierah responds evenly.

“We are at quite a tactical advantage. Perhaps we should utilize it.” 

Cierah is given a few moments to contemplate all the angles of this tense situation, going between what she can, want and should do, trying to find a compromise in between all three.  
With a brief sigh, she lowers her rifle and rises into a standing position.  
“Very well. If you Republic goons are willing and able to discuss this difficult mess we’ve ended up in, perhaps we shall do the same. It would be quite foolish to get into a fight we never asked for. I prefer to have much more stable tactical advantage than this.” 

Reezah nods and mirrors her move, before raising her arm.  
“Havoc Squad, stand down. I think we’ve had enough action for today.”

In the meantime, Cierah issues a wave for the two at the other corridor, seeing how they do as they’re told. Raina has already gotten back up, while Kaliyo glares at Cierah, seeming very disappointed.  
“Don’t fight me on this, Kaliyo.”

The rattataki snorts and shakes her head, lifting her gun to rest against her shoulder and walks away.  
“You robbed me of a fun battle. Hope you realize you owe me for this.”

The agent rolls her eye and takes a deep breath to sigh, knowing there’s not much she can say. She and Cierah rarely see eye to eye, but it’s part of why the she’s here. Unfortunately, Kaliyo can’t be allowed to win today.  
Before proceeding with her decision, she looks up at HK and gestures with her hand.  
“HK-51, put your assassination protocols on standby. They are not needed at this time.”

HK looks down at her from his elevated position and it takes a few seconds for him to react.  
“Query: Are you absolutely certain this is the wisest course of action, master?”

“That remains to be seen, but it is what I have chosen to do. Confirm my orders.”

In a mechanical, albeit slow process, the droid lowers his rifle and then places it on his back, letting it be held through magnetic attachments within his body.  
“Reluctant confirmation: As you say, master. Assassination protocols – on standby.  
Query: Do you wish me to patrol the perimeter in the meantime?”

“No, remain in this room, but stand at a reasonable distance. I want you to be able to react in case anything unexpected occurs.”

HK nods curtly, before he moves forward with a quick and easy step, leaping off the central container and onto the floor. It’s quite loud when he lands, probably due to the materials he’s made off, combined with the weight, but he does not appear to be adversely affected.  
When the leaders finally meet in the middle of where they had their standoff, they immediately choose to examine one another and make sure there’s nothing additionally suspicions that they need to look out for. Reezah has taken Elara with her and Cierah gestures for Raina to join, while the rest of the crews stand back and watch the confrontation with tense gazes.

Cierah folds her arms and despite feeling a certain reluctance, she figures it might be wise to reveal the truth.  
“You are somewhat mistaken about our identities, no matter who you believe we’re attached to or what we’re doing here.  
My affiliation was formerly to Imperial Intelligence, where I used to be an agent of some renown. The others around me are my team, and have been since prior to us leaving imperial territories.”

This doesn’t help to calm Reezah down, but Elara actually looks fairly surprised.  
“You were with Intelligence? That’s…interesting. I heard that they were dismantled by the Sith for collaborating against the Dark Council.”

Her statement gets Cierah’s attention, who nods briefly.  
“It is true that we were, hence the ‘former’ agent. However, things are not quite as simple as the official word would like you to believe. Intelligence was never working against the Dark Council, even if this is partially what they assumed. It was also not the Sith’s fault for taking Intelligence apart per se, even if they executed the decision and some of their lackeys still hunt us. Instead, exterior elements brought the blame onto Intelligence for acting against them and this belief is still held within their ranks. We have been working to counteract it.”

Both of the other women look fairly intrigued, perhaps partially due to Cierah actually telling them at all. Imperial Intelligence operatives are notorious for being extremely tight-lipped. This means she either doesn’t care or she has a personal reason for revealing it.  
“Hmm”, they hear Elara emitting. “I agree that this explanation sounds plausible, but I will admit that these…elements are something I’m unfamiliar with.”

Cierah shakes her head.  
“And I cannot inform you of any details either, as it is a very internal matter, but I can confirm that it has nothing to do with the reason for us being inside this vessel.”  
Shortly after, she faces Elara once more, eyeing her with interest.  
“You are Captain Elara Dorne, correct? The deserter.”

Elara appears mildly uncomfortable with this designation, but she can’t deny it.  
“Yes, I am.”

To the side, Cierah notes how Reezah becomes somewhat tense, as if she wants to protect Elara, but likely realizes how foolish it would be.  
“I thought as much. I have met and spoken with your father in the past. Commander Vasil is a good man, but he never mentioned your name during any of our few conversations.”

By her expression, it would appear that she had not expected to hear her father being mentioned here. She looks momentarily distant, possibly contemplating their last encounter.  
“He has his moments, I’ll admit, but I am not surprised he would never speak of me. He rarely spoke of personal matters in public in the past either, even when it comes to something this crucial. I suppose I cannot blame him.”

Raina offers a polite smile.  
“Well, perhaps he would at least be proud of your own accomplishments thus far. Reaching the rank of Captain at such a young age is quite astounding.”

Elara sighs briefly.  
“Unfortunately, my father was and is a staunch imperial through and through. I doubt he would appreciate the idea of me reaching any further within his enemies’ ranks.”

Seeing how it’s time to move on, Cierah redirects her eye towards Reezah.  
“So, perhaps it is time you explain what you mean by our ‘contact’? I still do not know what it is you speak of.”

The togruta takes a deep breath and places her arms behind her back, before she feels ready to begin.  
“I suppose so, but I hope you realize that we can’t give you any details either.”

“I expect nothing less.”

“Good. Anyway, we can reveal that we were led in this direction by intel provided to us from the SIS. They picked it up somewhere else and seemed pretty sure that this lead would be solid.”

Raina raises a hand to her chin, stroking it thoughtfully.  
“What were you hoping to find?”

“Months ago, we ran into an unknown group of people, possibly an organization of some kind, who assisted former Republic special forces soldiers that had betrayed the Republic for the Empire. These soldiers had failed in their mission against us in the past, but this group, whomever they are, apparently wanted something from the soldiers, possibly their cooperation. We were led to believe that we might find important clues here, potentially a secret base.”

Cierah tilts her head curiously, searching through various information inside her head to find a plausible explanation.  
“Hmm, that does sound like something the Empire might do, but from all the information of their latest operations that we have monitored during our absence, no such actions have been taken or even discussed.”

The younger agent nods in agreement.  
“We may not know the details but, this sounds like an advanced mission as well. It would be quite unlikely for the Sith to conduct such an operation without a proper intelligence organization. It was our purpose, after all.”

She gets no argument from Cierah, who instead begins to frown, feeling how the troublesome view is starting to increase.  
“If we consider this fact and how we’re all gathered here now, this entire setup seems very convenient somehow.”

Reezah turns her gaze towards HK who stands at a distance, just like Cierah ordered him to.  
“You were here just to pick up the droid?”

“Correct. We’ve been after this model for months.”

They see how Reezah’s lekkus twitches slightly, one of them enveloping her shoulder.  
“Yeah, now that you mention it, that is strange. You don’t think that anyone could’ve possibly-“

Before she can get any further, their discussion is interrupted by two things – heavy vibrations through the floor and a loud distant noise. The entire room peers towards the direction of where they heard the very obvious sound of an explosion and wonder where it might’ve originated from. Cierah immediately feels a sense of panic that Kaliyo suddenly got too bored, but realizes how stupid that is. There’s no way she’d make it this far already. 

The whole room is brought into a silent shock, and it’s HK who finally decides to break it.  
“Statement: Master, I am still connected to the system of the Fatality’s internal network and have therefore received reports from the ship’s sensors.”

Cierah nods eagerly at him.  
“Alright, can you explain what just happened?”

“Warning: The Fatality has sustained critical damage to the ship’s outer layers, particularly in the power systems. Damage cannot be contained and may spread to other sectors.”

Reezah immediately looks towards Cierah, but the agent raises a reassuring hand.  
“I know what that look means, but no, we are not responsible. It would be incredibly foolish to destroy this place while we’re still inside.”

The Major places her hands at her waist and sighs.  
“Yeah, okay, you’ve got a point.”

As another explosion is heard around the same area, Kaliyo comes running into the room, with quite an ambivalent gaze. It’s like she’s not sure if she should be alarmed or excited.  
“Uh, someone wanna explain to me what the fuck is going on? I thought we weren’t having a party.” 

Cierah shakes her head and initiates her internal communication implants.  
“Doctor, can you hear me?”

“Affirmative, Cipher”, he says, his voice only being slightly disrupted. 

“Do you see what’s going on? What’s happening out there?”

“I am not sure. If you are worried about an attack, don’t be. All of the explosions that I can read from the sensors show that they’re internal.”

Cierah frowns, more than what she did previously, and tries to think it through. If that’s the case, then someone must’ve planted those things. But who would’ve done that? Havoc obviously didn’t, or else they wouldn’t have stayed. Were they part of the ship’s design? Or did someone expect for this meeting to occur?  
She puts those questions away for now and looks at Reezah.  
“Major, this is not an external attack and if HK is correct about the areas these explosions are hitting, then it would most likely have closed off our initial entrance. We need to find an alternative escape route.”

Reezah’s eyes move around searchingly, trying to reassess the situation from a similar angle.  
“Well…shit. We took an entrance in the same region as you did, then. We don’t know what other openings there could be.”

Elara nods in agreement.  
“From what our scanners told us before we entered, most of the escape pod exits are on the wrong side of the ship, buried in the snow. It’s unlikely that we’d be able to utilize them.”

As the panic in the room is rising somewhat, due to everyone hearing what’s being discussed, HK approaches the middle.  
“Assurance: I have a complete schematic of the Fatality’s design, master. If we combine your knowledge of its current situation, I should be able to find every potential exit that we can exploit.”

Another detonation is heard within the ship, but this one even closer. Either the perpetrator of this has planted quite a few, or it has started a chain reaction that they cannot stop.  
“Very well, then work fast, HK”, Cierah says and they use their datapads to send over as much data to him as quickly as they can. 

It takes no more than half a minute until they’re off through the entrance that the Republic team used to get into the chamber and they follow the assassin droid as he increases his speed to lead them into safety.  
Unfortunately, despite their quick ability to make a decision, it appears that the blasts have caught up with them, and some consoles around their area are already short-circuiting and parts of the walls are coming off as mechanical systems within erupt. 

The longer they flee, the more dangerous the roads ahead grow. The lights in the corridors are starting to malfunction, either flashing or being cut off. The ground shakes and vibrates with each new explosion, debris falls down from the roof and fires begins to spread without remorse. The only thing they can rely on now are their own reflexes, their ability to cooperate and HK’s databank.  
During several occasions, HK gets the chance to show off his capabilities, either by tossing away some kind of debris that is trying to block them, or tearing open closed entrances in a much quicker process than Scorpio ever did. It is regrettable that none of them are completely sure if even these abilities will be enough to save the group, but they keep trying regardless.

When HK finally announces that they’re coming very close to nearest exit, misfortune strikes. They’re in a particularly open space at this point, one that would appear to have been spared any major damage so far. This does not last very long.  
As some of them are halfway through the room, several heavy explosions shake the area so much they have to slow down in order to not fall and once they try to get up and keep moving, they hear pained creaks and cracking noises from above. 

Reezah widens her eyes and as she’s in the front, she gestures with her arm.  
“C’mon, this whole place is coming down! Step it up!” 

Chaos breaks loose and debris falls down to the ground, burying some of them right in the middle of it. A thick haze of dust spreads across the room, making most of the non-droids cough and lose sight of their already dimly lit surroundings.  
Cierah is one of those who managed to make it to the other side, but does not feel particularly encouraged by how much junk fell down to the ground. She sees how HK-51, Scorpio, Yuun, Vik and M1-4X are nearby, but that only increases her panic.

“Where’s Raina? And the others?”  
She stands up and immediately activates her cybernetic eye, scanning the room for any life-signs, hoping that she won’t see anything too far back.  
“Major! Are you there?”

A strained, but gradually rising groan is heard from the eastern section of the room, as Reezah pushes away several heavy plates, to dig herself out of the debris. She coughs as the dust digs into her lungs and tries to wave it off.  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay! Where’s the rest?”

“I have a few, but there are some missing. Your Lieutenant Jorgan isn’t among us, nor is Captain Dorne.”

Reezah widen her eyes in sheer terror.  
“What?!” She looks back into the darkness of the junk on the other side and leaps right towards it.  
“Elara!”

“Don’t get yourself trapped in there, Major! We still have to flee before the entire ship explodes!”

It appears that Reezah ignores her however, and continues to look around, and Cierah will admit that she doesn’t follow her own suggestion, as she desperately tries to locate her comrades.  
It’s the Major who finds someone first, even if it wasn’t who she was looking for.  
Knocking away a few metal bars, Jorgan reveals his position to his superior and nods. She can see how the Lieutenant is clutching his gut somewhat, but resists showing any signs of his pain.

“I’ve got two of the imps here, sir. They’re both wounded and one of ‘em is knocked out. We need to get them into safety.”

Reezah seems reluctant, probably not wanting to waste time on anyone else when Elara isn’t found yet, but she tries to consider how the Captain would feel if her life was prioritized above anyone else.  
“Alright, show me and let’s help them out.”

Aric gestures with a nod towards one of the nearby walls where it appears he has dug out a bit of an exit for himself. Nearby lies an unconscious Vector, having another steel rod practically crushing his chest and Kaliyo, who’s sitting down, bleeding from her head while one of her legs lie in an uncomfortable position.  
The rattataki snorts.  
“You sure you wanna come for us?”, she says weakly. “You’ll probably regret it.”

Reezah moves up to one of them while she gestures with her hand for Aric to keep going.  
“You grab her and I’ll take care of this guy.”

Aric frowns somewhat but he nods and follows orders, hurrying to Kaliyo’s side, grabbing her arm and then lifting her up over his shoulder, while gritting his teeth.  
“Hope you’ll appreciate this the next time you wanna shoot me”, he says.

She coughs in pain, but manages to display a faint smirk.  
“If you promise not to drop me along the way, asshole.”

The rest of Reezah’s team stand ready to help out and she glances around, hoping that Cierah might’ve been wrong about what she saw earlier, but there are no signs of Elara. Her anxiety starts to reach worrying levels and she doesn’t want to consider the idea of having to leave her beloved behind. She wouldn’t do that for anyone, but Elara is of such importance that she’d rather sacrifice herself than continue going without that woman.

To her shock and relief, no such concerns need to be held, because a few people come walking from the darkness. Cierah comes running first, clearing the path for the two after her, which just so happens to be Elara being supported by the younger agent, Raina.  
“Elara!”, Reezah exclaims and hurries up to them.

The blonde human smiles faintly at her partner and reaches out with her hand, something which Reezah immediately grasps.  
“I’m…glad to see you’re alright.”

Reezah breathes out, managing to emit a brief chuckle out of relief.  
“You’re glad? How do you think I feel?”  
She then nods at Raina and shifts the position of her arms underneath Elara’s legs to lift her up.  
“Thanks. I’ll take her from here.”

Raina lets go off the Captain and steps back.  
“She pushed me into safety earlier, but had some heavy pieces fall on her legs and back instead. You will need to apply kolto later.”

M1-4X is used to carry Vector, Vik helps Aric who’s still not doing all too well and Cierah moves up to Kaliyo as they resume their escape.  
“Hope you didn’t ruin yourself while being a hero, Djannis.”

Kaliyo groans in disgust.  
“Shut the fuck up, agent, before I bury you instead.”

Shortly after this, they continue moving and thankfully, HK manages to find them an exit. Despite more explosions and the floor practically wanting to disappear beneath them, they see the light of the snowy landscape outside. They have several injured and it wouldn’t be advisable to leap from the few meter gap that they have down to the ground, but they have no other choice, unless they wish to be caught in the fire. 

The situation isn’t getting any less grim with how shockwaves are shooting out from the ship, and even if they’ve escaped, they still need to get to a fairly sizeable distance. Any other conclusion would catch them in the ultimate blast produced by the detonation of a vessel like this.  
To their increased relief, they see how a shadow comes flying above them and the Rogue Warden descends towards the snow, hovering just barely above the ground to extend its hatch. They run towards it, trying to get into the safety of its interior as quickly as they can and once they're inside, Lokin puts in a bit of extra power to let the thrusters send them away from here. As the Fatality erupts behind them, they are well out of range.

In the entrance area of the Rogue Warden’s hold, there’s a complete mess of bodies and metal, most of them merely lying on the floor so that they can recuperate. Cierah realizes that they cannot stay here, but she knows they have to at least be kind enough to drop the other team off in safety before they depart.  
Kaliyo is sitting against one of the walls and groans as feels how the Warden shudders.  
“Dammit, can someone tell Lokin to stop shaking this thing? Thought the old bastard would’ve learned to fly better.”  
She sighs and puts a hand on her head wound.  
“Does anyone want to tell me what the fuck just happened?”

Cierah is kneeling next to Vector and Raina, currently utilizing a scanner to evaluate their injuries, with HK assisting her.  
“I will admit that this was…not what any of us had expected. We certainly need to investigate.”

She turns her gaze over to the other side of the corridor, locking eyes with Reezah, who nods in agreement.  
“Yeah, you’ll get no argument from me. Whoever it is that did this, they’re clearly out for both of us and they’re smarter than we thought. We could use another ally.”

Cierah looks at her with both interest and a little bit of skepticism, before she stands up and closes the distance between them. Reezah is still holding onto Elara of course, refusing to let her go. The agent offers a hand for her.  
“I suppose a temporary alliance with Havoc squad would be beneficial for us as well. You may call me Cierah.”

Reezah smiles and takes the offer, clutching Elara against her at the same time.  
“Glad to hear it. Let’s hope we find them before they find us again.”  
Her eyes are then drawn to the side and towards the black-haired human. She inclines her head respectfully.  
“You saved Captain Dorne. I owe you one. You have my thanks, miss…?”

She offers a gentle smile.  
“Raina Temple. I was only happy to help, Major. You can pay me back by helping us solve this mystery.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Okay, everyone knows that something strange is going on now. Are they gonna start hunting that bastard soon or what?"_   
>  _Yes, eventually. Have patience, my lovelies. The rest of this fic will not have any immediate focus on this particular mystery, but there will be a little bit more in a similar vein later._   
>  _Next week, we'll start off with a Ktila chapter, though. It's gonna be quite special._
> 
> _And yeah this is the second time I've had an Imperial and Republic team cooperating on Belsavis_


	61. Pursuing infinity (JK)

One word that would be rare to describe the situation on the Shielded Path is ‘rowdy’. Sure, they can certainly get loud, especially when Kira and Scourge starts to bicker or if there’s some kind of training exercise that needs to be done, but it hardly ever goes so far as to be particularly disruptive. Perhaps Ktila should’ve expected this to change as soon as her thoughts wandered into forbidden territories, shades of reality that most of her peers would immediately discourage her from.  
Then again, they’re not her, are they? They don’t know what she has gone through to get to this point, they wouldn’t understand the hardships that she and her crew have faced. Few people do and that is likely the problem. She needs a new path.

After some pretty important events in another room, she wanders into a set of quarters that has a holographic projector within and the area lights up while she enters. She is not alone, however, as Kira has followed her.  
The young human does not oppose her friend, but she still looks quite reluctant. She’s not sure whether it’s worth it by now to actually say something and yet, what other chance will she get? At least it’s just the two of them now, which she verifies by closing the door.

“Ktila, let’s talk about this.”

At this time, the chiss is putting in a sequence of symbols into the projector, getting ready to contact a specific frequency. She doesn’t stop, but at least glances over her shoulder.  
“I thought that’s what we did.”

“Yeah, I know but…”  
She hesitates, biting at her own lower lip for a second.  
“I’m not sure this is a good idea. Maybe you shouldn’t make the call. Not yet, anyway.”

Ktila shakes her head and continues with her task, which is soon finished, but she waits with the activation for a moment.  
“There’s no point in doing that anymore, Kira. What we have to accomplish now is too important and we have to make a decision.”  
She takes a deep breath, analyzing her emotions and trying to locate her resolve. Yeah, it’s definitely still there. This is the right thing to do.  
“I have to talk to her. She needs to know.”

She pushes the button, but before it can connect to the right frequency, Kira is by her side again, a small frown on her face.  
“But what if we end up regretting it? What if we realize that their help was necessary after all?”

Shifting her red eyes around, she faces Kira with a look of determination that not even knight can’t budge.  
“The only regret I have is not doing this sooner.”

No more words can be spoken, as they don’t have time for it. Instead, another light flares up in the center of the room and an individual appears, one who is familiar to them both – Grand Master Satele Shan.  
The leader of the Jedi immediately seems to recognize her as well and smiles gently.  
“Ah, master Ktila. This is a pleasant surprise, especially at this time.”

Ktila inclines her head respectfully.  
“Grand Master.”

“Weren’t you heading towards a battle in the Siaros system? Or has it already started?”

She contemplates her response, thinking what the best approach should be. She doesn’t want to get too blunt here but, they also need to know.  
“We were, yes, but we never arrived. And we won’t.”

Satele stops for a moment, a little bit perplexed, but curious as well. She folds her arms over her chest.  
“I see. What has happened? Did you get waylaid or is your aid needed elsewhere?”

Another inhalation is needed, as her heart has started to pound a bit faster. She’s not actually sure if it’s out of fear or excitement.  
“You could say that but, not the way you’re thinking.  
I have come to realize that it’s no longer possible to ignore the real threat. I have to turn my focus around, before it’s too late.”

Satele arches a confused brow.  
“The real threat?”

“The Emperor is still alive, master, still out there and he poses a more serious threat than anything we’re currently facing.”

Pretty much as soon as she says it, there’s a look of skepticism which surges through Satele’s expression. She knew this would happen.  
“You sound very confident of this, but I’m not sure I can believe it. You defeated him on Dromund Kaas, did you not? Or did you not relay the correct information to us?”

“I did, yes, but defeating the Emperor once means nothing in the long run. In fact, our theories are pointing towards that it has only made him more capable of circumventing us easier next time.”

Despite the certainty in her voice, Satele does not look particularly convinced. However, at least she’s open-minded enough to not immediately shut Ktila down.  
“And do you have proof of this?”

Ktila falters somewhat, knowing that there’s no easy way to approach the issue.  
“Well…not in that sense, no. I can’t provide you with any hard evidence of what we know to be true but, we all believe it. The only real indication that you would understand is likely the words of the Emperor’s ‘Children’.”

Satele nods curtly.  
“Yes, you have mentioned as much. But, would it not be possible to believe that such visions are merely aftershocks, unruly ripples in the Force? It wouldn’t be too hard to imagine, seeing how powerful the Emperor was.”

Ktila sighs.  
“If only it was that simple. We’ve met a few of the Children already and if we include the experiences of me and my crew, it is clear to all of us that he’s on his way back. Every word also points to that he’s going to be more dangerous than ever.  
He knows our tricks now, knows what we’re able to send against him and we need to formulate a new plan, something that we’ve not been focusing on.”

It is by this point that Satele’s expression changes from skeptical to worried, possibly infused with a bit of contemplation.  
“I see. You do indeed sound very determined. However, this still raises quite a few questions.  
Is this truly something you _must_ do or something that you _want_ to do?”

She sees what angle Satele is taking and perhaps she can’t blame the older Jedi for trying, but it won’t stop them. Ktila shakes her head.  
“No, it’s not that simple. This is more than me worrying, master. We have to hunt him down now that we’ve got the opportunity, as he’s weakened. Isn’t it our duty to follow up on dangers which we have sworn to destroy? Especially when it is so fiercely related to the Force.”

“I agree to a certain extent, but we have to also be self-aware and mindful of the actions we take.  
Can you truly say that this is only related to the Emperor? Are you certain that this has nothing to do with what befell master Tol Braga, knight Leeha Narezz and Warren Sedoru?”  
Ktila opens her mouth, but shuts it a few seconds later when nothing is emitted. She frowns and looks down.  
“I understand how it made you feel, Ktila and what sort of horrors you must have suffered in captivity, but you must not let it consume you. Overwhelming guilt and obsession will only lead you astray.”

While she doesn’t say it out loud, Ktila sincerely doubts that the Grand Master can fully comprehend it on the same level. If that was true, she wouldn’t be using such words.  
That said, she is reluctant to respond with too much confidence.  
“I…suppose I have to admit to feeling some kind of responsibility for what happened. I was meant to kill him, after all. Twice, in fact, and I failed.”

Satele briefly shakes her head.  
“This is not what we have seen, Ktila. Your mission was a success and the positive effects have been observed in the aftermath.”

She starts to frown, trying to rebuild her resolve. It’s hard to deny the kind of influence the Grand Master has with her mere presence, even though this is over the holo.  
“No, I failed, master. I may have taken him down physically, but I did not kill him. He needs to be destroyed, for the safety of this galaxy. I can’t let anything else distract me.”

Each of her words are said with conviction, but Satele doesn’t appear to be very assured by them.  
“I realize how important it is to you and I will admit that your strong opinion on the matter has me intrigued, but this can’t be your entire focus, not with the current state of the galaxy. What about the war and the Republic?”

Looking away somewhat, Ktila sighs and her shoulders slump. Kira is on the side and can see some of the exhaustion appearing, which she has been trying to hide.  
“I’m tired of the war, master, how it’s nothing more than an extended clashing of egos. Perhaps some feel differently, even within our Order, but it’s not what I’ve witnessed out there on the fields.  
The war against the Sith is only a distraction, one that the Emperor likely approves of and will use against us eventually. He has already tried it once, remember? This time, he might actually succeed.”

“But much of the galaxy still suffers, despite your lack of faith. People are dying due to the Empire’s conquests and continued wish to cause harm. Even you cannot deny this, Ktila.  
Ignoring this fact and focusing entirely on a man who is most likely already gone, is not what a Jedi should be doing.”

It’s not the first time she has heard those words, not even today. She doesn’t look at Kira but, she knows that the knight has experienced at least a similar opinion.  
“I see where you’re coming from, master Shan, but I cannot work on the same level as you. Or perhaps you and the others cannot keep up with me, I dunno.”  
She places her hands on her waist, feeling how she may soon have to reveal her true intention.  
“I want you to know that I truly believe in the virtues of justice and fairness that the Jedi have upheld for generations, but sometimes, we can get a bit too…zealous.”

Satele frowns at her skeptically.  
“You believe that the protection of the innocent in the galaxy makes us zealous? That is contrary to previous opinions you have expressed.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. In essence, that thing is a good aspect, which helps better the general attitude around the galaxy, but can we truly say, without a doubt, that we have not also been responsible for encouraging this conflict; to hunt the Sith even further than we should?  
I know I’m saying this while I’m suggesting that we chase after the Emperor, but he is more than Sith, more than a simple individual. He is a threat unlike anything else that we’ve ever encountered and he has been around for too long. The Sith Empire is a product of his actions, of his scheming. If we put all our attention on the consequences rather than the source, he will just continue doing what he has done before and create even more chaos.”

It’s a brief moment when it almost appears as if she has convinced Satele of what she believes is true, but that breaks shortly after.  
“And I think you are underestimating the Sith and what they’re capable of. Perhaps the Emperor did create them, but that does not decrease the danger they pose for the galaxy. He was like them once and if we leave them alone, what is to say this will not create a duplicate, an imitator? We have to stop them before it is too late and I sense that you are letting your emotions cloud your judgement, Ktila.”

Ktila frowns, not liking what she’s hearing, especially after what she said seconds before.  
“Huh, that’s an interesting thing to hear, coming from you. Have you not let your beliefs, emotions and assumptions rule your decisions?  
Did you not believe just as much as the rest of us in the defeat of the Emperor and how important it was that we succeed? Did you not make rather sweeping statements and assumptions regarding the Voss when we visited them? Can you honestly say that your distaste for the Sith and what they have taken from you has never affected your way to approach them?”

Satele falters only slightly, unable to fully deny what she’s being told, but not so much that it consumes her.  
“That’s….”

“Or what about the agent we were set up with during our joint mission with the crew of the Barsen’thor? Agent Theron Shan seemed very uncomfortable when you were mentioned.”

The Grand Master widens her eyes momentarily, although it’s unclear if she had not considered it or she just hadn’t expected to be faced with this from someone inside her Order.  
“…I will not-…cannot deny that I have made mistakes in the past, but the way to rectify such actions is to not continue making them.”

“And yet you persist in doing exactly that. I’m trying to tell you that this will be another mistake.”

Satele shuts her eyes, hoping to find some sort of inner peace, while she simultaneously tries to direct a fellow Jedi Master onto the right path.  
“Ktila, your certainty is not proof of being correct. Try to see this from another angle, another perspective. Focus, think of the Jedi Code and how-“

“ _No_ , I will not.”  
With the fierce tone being used, Satele has to open her eyes and look at Ktila, who is still frowning.  
“Can I admit something to you, master Shan? I have never followed the Jedi Code to the letter. I think it has some good applications and some reasonable philosophies, but as a set of rules for an entire Order, it is too restrictive, too narrow-minded. Even the Green Jedi realized this, which is why we always followed our own path.”  
There’s no immediate response from Satele, meaning she’s likely listening, seeing what angle Ktila aims to take.  
“The Jedi should generally be more than the Code, more than an incarnation of a blank page. We are not tools of war, not puppets to the whims of officers in the Republic and our attention should be towards the true threats in the galaxy, ones that may destroy everything we hold dear.”

“But if we do not fight, then how do you expect us to keep it safe? Perhaps we are not meant for war, but war is necessary in certain circumstances.”

“Yeah, I’m not saying we should be pacifists, but we have to fight the real enemy, not ones who will merely trap us in an endless cycle of conflict. That’s not how we find balance.”

Unfortunately, they are no longer on the same page, nor does Satele seem to be of the opinion that this can continue.  
“I hope you understand that I cannot simply let you leave this fight to chase after ghosts.”

Ktila’s eyes narrows somewhat and she crosses her arms again.  
“And I’m not going to let you stop me. I am doing this, Satele, even if it’s outside of the Jedi.”

Suddenly, the Grand Master widens her eyes.  
“Wait, are you saying that…”

“Until you choose to change and do what’s right, I will no longer be part of your Order.  
We will not be enemies and I shall never strip my identity as a Jedi, but I will be devoted to the true cause that will save this galaxy, until it is over. Only then can we discuss the future.”

The gaze Satele displays now is more of more than mild concern, as she’s rather alarmed instead.  
“Please, Ktila, you have to listen. Do not let yourself be fixated on this one event. You need to think more clearly.”

Ktila takes a few steps forward and shakes her head.  
“I’m sorry, but I have made my decision. Farewell, Grand Master, and good luck.”

“Ktila!”, is the last thing they hear, before she cuts the conversation off and shuts the device down.

For a few seconds after this is done, Ktila puts her hands onto the table, closes her eyes and tries to steady her breathing. She feels as if she just threw herself into the depths of an ocean and hasn’t been able to regain her breathing for several minutes. She knows she’s right by making this choice and has to get back to the surface.  
After she’s done, she looks over her shoulder towards Kira.

“It’s too late to undo this now.”

Kira stares at her for a little while, eyes moving searchingly before she peers down on the ground.  
“Yeah, I guess.”

This obviously must’ve been difficult for Kira to hear and Ktila won’t dismiss those feelings. She takes a few steps towards her friend and puts a hand on her shoulder.  
“Look, I understand if you feel that this isn’t for you. I won’t judge you if you choose not to go with me.”

Once more, the human nibbles at her lower lip, trying to determine where she’s standing in the whole issue, the chaos they’re swept up in.  
“I’m not gonna pretend like this isn’t making me skeptical; it definitely is and I’m not sure what’s gonna happen. I am…a little bit scared.”

Ktila nods slowly and moves her hand to envelop one of Kira’s. She feels how her friend squeezes back.  
“And no one will blame you for it. It’s a dangerous mission, with an unknown outcome. We’re not even really sure where we have to go from here.”

“Yeah…I guess so.  
What was it that master Braga said on Corellia? ‘Beware of destinies’?”

When she says those words, the same ones echo through Ktila’s mind and it’s almost like she’s back on the Eclipse again.  
“…’they’re rarely what you expect’.”  
She sighs heavily.  
“Yeah, I remember. Unfortunately, we don’t really have a choice. Or at least I don’t.”

It appears that the compassionate words have an effect on Kira’s mood, who softens slightly.  
“Well, it doesn’t really matter how I feel or if I still have doubts about it. We’re friends, partners and we’ve been together in this ever since the beginning. You are the only one who truly understands me and I care for you more than almost anyone else. Not gonna leave you behind now.”

This brings the first smile on Ktila’s lips for the entire day and she closes the last bit of distance between them, hugging her old Padawan.  
“Thank you, Kira. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Heh, probably go crazy, since you’d have to listen to Scourge’s boring crap all day.”  
Her cheerful expression isn’t without its cracks, unfortunately.  
“I guess master Kiwiiks will be disappointed, though.”

Ktila leans back a little bit and raises a hand to caresses Kira’s cheek.  
“Don’t be so sure. Bela is smart and can see these things from many perspectives. She didn’t ever truly want this war either. I believe she will put her faith in us, just like she has done in the past.”

“Yeah, maybe. I hope so at least.”

The two soon leave the room and relocate towards another place within the ship, one that they were rather busy in earlier. Immediately when they enter, they see two body-sized capsules on a table with one person in each. They contain Sergeant Fideltin Rusk and doctor Archiban Kimble. Standing right next to them is Lord Scourge and the astromech droid T7-O1, both of them awake and aware.  
“Is it done?”, Ktila asks.

“Of course, it didn’t take long”, Scourge explains.

Some beeping noises can also be heard from T7, which Ktila can easily interpret.  
“Sergeant + Doctor = will sleep until capsule internal processes deactivate. // Both = should be ready for transport + drop off safely.”

“If that is truly what we intend to do”, Scourge says skeptically.

Ktila sighs.  
“It is. Just because they disagreed, it doesn’t mean we have to hurt them.”

The Sith shifts his attention to her, a frown clearly displayed on his brow, but not necessarily in defiance.  
“I have a feeling you will eventually regret this decision, especially due to what they might be capable of doing.”

This whole scenario has gotten a lot more complicated than Ktila had hoped, after they began discussing what needed to be done. When Ktila seemed to be heading in the direction of not only leaving the Order, but the entire war, Rusk got very loud at first and then eventually violent. Some of this can be blamed on Scourge as well, who were eager to spur this behavior on.  
Doc isn’t usually very passionate in these occasions, but he was on the same page as Rusk, saying that it was a bad idea. When the violence started, he attempted to flee, but Scourge knocked him out too.

Ktila attempted to protest these actions, but it was too late. She realized that neither Rusk nor Doc would want to be part of this at the expense of the Republic and she will not blame them. Unfortunately, this also means she can’t really trust them either.  
“Conversation with Grand Master = successful?”, T7 asks.

Ktila shrugs.  
“As successful as one might expect, I suppose. She wasn’t happy, but I never thought she would be. It is done, though. I am no longer a part of the Jedi Order, or at least not by my own words. I can’t speak for what they will do.”

T7 lowers his round head somewhat and expresses himself through a few sad beeps.  
“T7 = sad to see Ktila leave. // Jedi = brave + honorable.”

Seeing how he was programmed and the kind of life he has lived, she won’t blame him for feeling this way.  
She kneels down and gently pats his head.  
“I know how hard it is, little guy, but we have to do what’s right. The Emperor is too powerful right now and if he gets the opportunity to devour the galaxy again, he will do it.”

“T7 = aware of danger + won’t let Ktila go alone. // Ktila + T7 = fight the darkness of the galaxy together!”

Scourge has had more than enough time to learn binary during his long life and is therefore aware of the meaning of these sounds, but merely snorts.  
“You shouldn’t hesitate, as this has always been the right decision. I’m glad you finally realized it.”

Kira frowns at him. The two of them may have calmed down their rhetoric a bit, but they’re not exactly friends.  
“This doesn’t mean we’ll be joining the Sith, by the way.”

He shrugs in return.  
“And I have no intention to convince you. In fact, I do not care who you align with, as long as you do what is needed. The Emperor is your enemy as much as mine, a truth which the entire galaxy should embrace. He must be stopped at all costs.”

Ktila nods, stands up and then walks closer to the capsules.  
“I think we’re all on the same wavelength in that regard. I just wish these two had been with us. We will probably need their help.”  
She views the two of them as they lie sleeping inside their temporary prisons, a sensation of remorse entering her chest.  
“I’m sorry, to both of you. I have to do this and even if you disagree, I hope you’ll one day understand why.”

Kira hasn’t really expressed an opinion on this outcome, while T7 was disappointed and Scourge somewhat amused.  
“You should simply execute them, you know. They will remain a nuisance until you do.”

While Ktila isn’t really that offended by it, as she’s used to his mannerisms, T7 sounds seriously upset, so much so that he bumps right into Scourge. Doesn’t make much of a dent, but the message is clear.  
“Rusk + Doc = brave heroes who helped fight the Emperor! // T7 + Ktila + Kira + Sith = not evil villains who kill friends!”

Scourge rolls his eyes.  
“I would not mind shutting you up as well, you annoying trash can.”

“Scourge, please”, Ktila says while intervening, turning to face them both.  
“There’s no need for that kind of language. I acknowledge T7’s concerns and I will never strike down an ally like that. You know that I won’t. We will drop them off with the Republic like we agreed and there is nothing that will make me change this decision.”

Taking a deep breath, the Sith shakes his head, but clearly seems resigned that he won’t be able to do much about it.  
“Very well. Their survival or death matters little anyhow.”

Kira appears to be a little bit smug about the fact that Ktila at least showed him what she won’t tolerate.  
“So, what’s the plan then? Where will be we going?”

Ktila moves over towards one of the chairs nearby and sits down, crossing her legs.  
“I think our first goal should be to resume our hunt for the Children of the Emperor. We have enough files and documents on their existence that I believe we can do what’s necessary. We have to speak with them and attain more clues regarding the Emperor’s current status, location and goals. This will not be an easy mission, especially because most probably won’t want to cooperate.  
Then again, when have our lives ever been easy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I hope I have been able to make this obvious but, Ktila has been drifting towards this decision for a long time. I have tried my best to show her increasing doubts and the last call with Zal really forced the issue._   
>  _Yes, this is kind of selfish choice, but Ktila wants to go her own way. She'll basically be a "Grey Jedi"._
> 
> _And yes, no more Rusk and Doc. Personally, I'm not a great fan of either of those characters and they never really had much of a place among Ktila's crew anyway. That's why I haven't added them much into most of my Ktila-focused chapters._
> 
> _There'll be a slight follow-up on Saturday, where we'll see the perspective of the Jedi Council in the aftermath of Ktila leaving._


	62. Reviewing truth (JC)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Should start off by saying that this fic is now officially my longest one, in terms of word count. "Through passion's gateways" had been in the lead ever since it went past "Among the faded tales" like, months ago, but that victory did not last for very long. I also doubt I'll have a story of this kind of length in quite a while so, it's pretty cool_

The Jedi Council chamber on Tython is a place dedicated to discussion, contemplation and decision-making. The most important and respected members of the Order gather for many reasons, usually involving where to take the Jedi in the future or some issue that surrounds either the Force or the organizations devoted to it. While the mood inside can sometimes grow tense, it’s difficult to claim that any such emotion would ever be pervade the room to the extent that it’s practically palpable. Well, until today, that is.

After two individuals are done telling their story to the Council, the room grows silent, with the various members showing emotions ranging from troubled to saddened.  
Grand Master Satele Shan is the one who decides to break this quiet nature, as she stands up and nods at their guests.  
“Thank you, Sergeant Rusk and Doctor Kimble, for telling us what the two of you endured. It’s unfortunate that it had to end this way.”  
She shifts the direction of her gaze towards the rest of the Council, being unable to prevent herself from emitting a very brief sigh before she resumes.  
“It has been made clear to us now that Ktila has truly chosen to leave the Jedi Order behind, taking Knight Kira Carsen, Lord Scourge of the Sith and the astromech droid, T7-O1, with her.”

Everyone has heard this piece of news twice already, both from when Satele first announced the call she received from Ktila, as well as just a few minutes ago, when Rusk and Doc started their story of the events that transpired on the Shielded Path. And yet, even if that is true, most of them still look and sound either devastated or disappointed.  
Minor comments and short mumbling conversations are had between some of those closest to each other, but there are three who raise their voices enough to fully bring the attention to them – Bela Kiwiiks, Jaric Kaedan and Gnost-Dural.

Jaric is the first to speak up, his arms folded and a deep frown adorning his brow.  
“It is disappointing to believe that such a proud and competent Jedi would turn her back on us. If there is anything made clear by this revelation, it’s that she has gotten obsessed. I wonder how Orgus would have felt about this…”

Gnost lifts his hand, running a few fingers at the edge of his breathing mask in thought. While Jaric’s tone was rather harsh, Gnost sounds calm and even.  
“I will agree that she seems very determined to follow up on her previous actions, but I’m not so certain it is wise to classify this behavior as an ‘obsession’.  
After all, even if she is clearly the most adamant to continue the hunt, we can all agree that the Emperor must be vanquished, yes?”

His words sound reasonable to most, but Jaric remains skeptical.  
“We can, but isn’t that exactly what she did many months ago now? To me, her current actions simply point towards some sort of lingering elements, perhaps ones that affect her mind, and they are making her choose a path that leads away from us, one that might eventually guide her to the dark side.”

The kel dor nods slowly.  
“It is possible. We did all witness what happened to the rest of the Jedi who came with her, and even if she appeared to be mostly unaffected, I suspect this was merely a façade she kept up to protect herself. Perhaps we should have dedicated more time for her to meditate and receive counseling, rather than go into war.”

While she doesn’t outright say it, it seems quite blatant that Satele feels guilty for having taken a huge part in sending Ktila into the conflict, perhaps even the foremost cause of it all.  
“I believe you may be correct, master Dural”, she says. “I shall have to review my own interactions with her and assess what should have been done differently.”

On another chair, Bela looks saddened as she runs a hand along one of her lekkus.  
“It feels both…disheartening and confusing that anything like this could’ve occurred, especially without even a word.”

Gnost turns his head in her direction.  
“You have not received any messages as of yet?”

She shakes her head in return.  
“No, nothing. Kira does not answer my calls, nor respond to my mails.  
It’s not entirely unusual for her to remain out of contact per se, but after something as crucial as this, I would’ve at least expected an explanation, for her to tell me that she is alright and how she preferred to stay with Ktila. She should know by now that I would never judge her.”

Jaric snorts from his side.  
“Then perhaps that is the problem? She may have assumed she owes you nothing, despite how much you have done for her, because she felt no obligation to do so.”

His words seem to upset Bela a little bit, who displays a minor frown.  
“I am not saying I require it of her, merely that I would want one. If she feels she owes me nothing, that is because it’s true. I have never forced my padawans to walk along the same line of thought as me, only that they learn to use the Force in a safe manner.”

Jaric continues to be rather skeptical of his peers, but he does not make any further comments on Bela and Kira’s connection. Instead, he redirects his attention to Satele.  
“Something must be done. We can’t sit here and simply let this slide, not with the current state of the galaxy. Ktila was, and still is, a member of this Order and she cannot be allowed to run away from her duties; it will show us all in a bad light.  
What is your opinion, master Satele?”

Satele stands with her arms folded, gaze turned to the table and eyes displaying a very apparent hesitation.  
“If I should be honest, I am very torn on the matter, for several reasons, not the least due to feeling a responsibility for this occurring in the first place.  
If we choose to act directly and perhaps attempt to capture her, it might somehow disrupt Ktila’s belief in us even further and make the whole situation several times worse.  
However, doing nothing at all is just as foolish, no? It will make us seem negligent and uncaring, ignoring the concerns of one of our own.”  
She sighs, shuts her eyes and raises a hand to rub her forehead.  
“I believe I could use some opinions on what the rest of the Council would prefer.”

Just as expected, Jaric goes first once more, always being very sure of what he believes to be the right path. No wonder many people oppose his ascension to Grand Master.  
“I don’t suppose anyone is surprised by me saying this, but I am certainly of the belief that we should and _must_ hunt this team down as swiftly as possible.  
Sure, I acknowledge the fact that Ktila and her crew may have their reasons, but they are leaving the war against the Empire behind, a conflict where their participation is vital. If anyone is being negligent, it is her.  
And besides, did she not admit to actively breaking the Order’s tenets? She dismisses the Code, ignores her duties and mocks our contribution against the Emperor and his lackeys. She has practically betrayed everything that we stand for!”

His rather passionate speech, even if not particularly loud, brings a silence to the room which either make people see the issue in a new light or bring them some kind of increased doubt for this path. Gnost appears to drift towards the latter.  
“While I will agree that her own words may have been spoken rather hastily, using terms like ‘betrayal’ is very harsh and just as careless. Don’t forget that she admitted to still believing in what we stand for, admiring the justice and fairness of the Jedi. Do not dismiss her as a Sith, master Kaedan.  
And I also think it would be very wise to remember that we all knew what we were in for when we invited her to Tython. She was a member of the Green Jedi and they have always had a slightly different philosophy, no matter how well our two Councils get along.”

Jaric scowls in his direction.  
“Yes, but the Green Jedi have never chosen to dismiss us so brazenly and act in such a selfish manner. Her attitude displays a lack of care for the Order as a whole and how she thinks she can do everything on her own.”

“I would argue that the Green Jedi wishing to separate their district from ours and have their own Council disproves your entire notion, master Kaedan. I don’t know if you have ever read the history of the Jedi from Corellia, but they are notoriously contrary and always bent on going their own way. Sounds familiar, does it not?”

Having a lack of further arguments, Jaric chooses to stay silent. This gives Bela an opportunity to express her opinion.  
“I see why master Kaedan feels like he does but, personally, I believe we should leave them be and trust in Ktila and Kira. I know that the connection they share is incredibly strong and having witnessed their abilities on multiple occasions, I am very aware of how capable they tend to be, both in combat and with intellectual issues. And when have the two of them ever failed us before?”

Similarly to what he did for Jaric, Gnost provides a counterargument to Bela as well.  
“Your trust in your former padawan is not one that I would disagree with, master Kiwiiks, as I certainly understand the sentiment, but we must also look at the wider picture. They are but two people, accompanied by another two individuals which we cannot fully assess the capabilities of. Some doubt in this situation is not unwarranted.  
As for them failing us, would it not be true to state that they did so during their initial hunt for the Emperor?”

Bela looks towards him, contemplating his question and her own response while she somewhat bites at her lip.  
“Well…yes, of course, I can’t deny the fact that we may have put a little bit too much faith in them, especially due to master Tol Braga’s insistence, but I doubt it should affect our trust in them at this point. Even if there are only four of them, it is not a sign that they will do anything particularly unwise. In fact, I would argue that, due to having lost once already, they are much more likely to act with increased caution this time.”

“And if you are wrong, we lose not only a Jedi Master and a very talented Knight, but perhaps the most intricate knowledge regarding the Emperor’s mind that we currently have. Who among us can say that we understand this enemy more than master Ktila? If she is correct regarding the Emperor’s resurrection, and she dies, we must restart our research from the very beginning. We may not be ready if that ever occurs.”

After Gnost-Dural has effectively brought enough doubt to both Bela and Jaric, the discussion proceeds among the rest of the Council, with several more of them offering their opinions and suggesting possible solutions, arguing about what may be wisest.  
During this time, Satele only half listens, as her attention is brought towards a specific chair and a woman who has not been saying anything thus far. Iron’zeranz sits in silence, her arms folded and even though she has no eyes like a human, the Grand Master still gets the sense that Iron is many miles away.

“Master Iron, you have been very quiet”, she says, which makes some of the other masters look towards them, gaining the same realization.  
“I would love to hear your opinion on this issue, if you have one.”

Iron turns to face Satele for a few moments, staring at her, before she briefly inclines her head.  
“I do indeed, but I have been…pondering the potential problems and solutions, if there even are any.”

“I see. Could you enlighten us?”

“Perhaps.”  
She shifts her gaze to look towards their two guests, who still remain. Satele has not dismissed them, meaning she probably wanted them to stay in case any further questions were needed, and they are now.  
“Sergeant Rusk, Doctor Kimble, what do you believe? Do you think master Ktila speaks the truth? And if that is the case, can she succeed in the task she has set out for herself?”

Doc doesn’t seem as ready to say anything, but Rusk looks rather eager, folding his arms and frowns.  
“Well, personally, I agree with master Jaric. We should hunt down the Shielded Path right away.  
Not only has she turned against the beliefs of the Jedi Code, but also betrayed the Republic in a critical moment. That has to be punished, no matter what she intends to do.”

Iron merely shakes her head.  
“That is not what I asked. Ktila is not a member of the Republic military and she has no true obligations to it, more than what the Jedi determine and her own morality tells her. If it points her in another direction, then the Jedi are likely to support her.  
But I wonder whether you believe Ktila is right and if she can truly succeed against the Emperor. Do you not have an answer for this question? I thought you two served with her for quite some time?”

This time, Rusk merely shuts his mouth and looks very reluctant to respond. It’s unclear if it’s due to Iron’s choice of words or because he may not actually have a response.  
Doc seems similarly hesitant, but he decides to break the silence.  
“It’s…hard to tell, really. Technically, neither of us ever saw or heard anything regarding the Emperor after he died, or what we thought was his death. The others told us a bunch of stuff but, you know, the two of us can’t say we’ve got any proof of it, more than their words.  
That said, we gotta admit that those three – Ktila, Kira and Scourge – have always been closer to each other, than me and Rusk ever were. Sometimes it felt like we were outsiders in the group, just there as a temporary measure. And then there’s T7, who’s sort of in the middle. Can’t say for sure that he didn’t know anything either but, he has always trusted Ktila, no matter what. I think he’s got some good standards but, master Ktila is his guidance.”  
He puts his hands at his hips, takes a deep breath and exhales slowly.  
“If there truly is something to everything she believes in, even if the two of us are skeptical, then Ktila would definitely be the one to solve it. I know I’m just saying that now while understanding practically nothing of the Force, but…if you’ve ever been around that woman, you know what I mean. She’s…somethin’ else.”

Iron nods.  
“Thank you, Doctor.  
And there we have it, yes? I do not believe there is any need for further discussion. I think that stopping Ktila before giving her a chance to accomplish her goal is foolish, something that we can see the evidence of in the words from her comrades and the results of her actions. And I am not merely speaking of her fight against the Emperor, but throughout her rather short career as a Knight and Master. She has succeeded with some of the most gruesome and unlikely tasks, achievements which few of us can compare to.  
On top of this, there is no indication that she actually betrayed the Order, nor that she will join the Sith. Perhaps she will not be in this war in the same manner as the rest of us, but she is only one Jedi. If we are depending on her for victory, then we truly deserve to fall.  
Let her find her own path and trust in her knowledge and wisdom. Perhaps she will return to us someday, whether she needs us or has finished what she set out to do. Either way, it would be prudent to welcome her back at that point.”

The rest of the Council remains silent longer than previously, all of them contemplating what perhaps should have been obvious.  
Somehow, Satele looks relieved with the knowledge that there is someone with such a sound and clear opinion, which makes her smile and nod in agreement.  
“Master Iron is right, as was master Kiwiiks and a few others. I have decided to take your side. Let us trust in Ktila, Kira and their comrades, and be ready for their future communications.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I have no idea where I got the idea of "Gnost-Dural likes to argue and disprove everyone" from, but I kinda like it._
> 
> _Next week starts off with a Zal'riva chapter, but it doesn't haven't anything to do with Ktila leaving the Order. Don't worry, I will get to it in a couple of weeks._


	63. Concerning Wrath (SW)

The Imperial Citadel within Kaas City has many offices, compartments and areas specifically created for the various Spheres of Influence that lead and organize the Empire. They can have several different uses as well, from personal chambers and workstations to testing facilities and data centers. The Sphere of Ancient Knowledge sees a lot of activity from their leader, Darth Imperius, who tends to spend most of her time here, either working or doing something related to her interests. Not only is she very well-known within these departments, due to most people having recognized her face by now, she’s also very cautious, making sure that she’s aware exactly what goes on within her territory. That is why no one, not even a friend, can easily slip into one of her facilities without being noticed.

As Valcera walks into the archives belonging to her Sphere, she sees a familiar red-skinned figure in a grey coat standing by one of the terminals, looking at some kind of images.  
“Well now, what do we have here?”, she says, her tone filled with amusement. “I do not remember ever giving permission for our dear Wrath to enter my archives.”

Zal’riva smiles, her arms folded as she glances over her shoulder.  
“Sorry about that. I needed access and your guards were not courageous enough to get in my way. You also seemed least likely to protest.” 

Val rolls her eyes, having known the answer already, but it’s nice to hear the truth out loud. That said, she’s not sure if she’s actually satisfied with it.  
“Come now, darling”. She starts to smirk. “There’s another motive to it, isn’t there?”

The two of them are used to teasing and playing around with each other, even if Val tends to be better at it. Zal chuckles and shakes her head.  
“Perhaps. I suppose I have to admit that yours is the coziest. I took that into account when I made my choice too.” 

The mirialan’s expression brightens somewhat and she looks around the rather large room. There’s many more consoles and terminals here, but her eyes are drawn to the walls.  
“You like the redecorating I ordered for this hall, then? Glad to hear it. Some of the others were not as satisfied.”

It’s not the first time that Val has chosen to express her artistic preferences and it seems she favored an abstract appearance for this place, similarly to her own office. Zal thinks it’s supposed to resemble a night sky over a jungle, but it’s hard to tell.  
“You have always had an…interesting taste, but I can’t claim to be particularly talented at such things.” 

“Mm, don’t worry, my dear, I shall endeavor to shower you with my spectacular knowledge at some point.”  
Eventually, she ends up next to the twi’lek, places hands at her own hips and turns her blue eyes to the screen.  
“Now then, mind telling me what you’re doing?”

With a nod, Zal indicates the images displayed by the terminal.  
“I’m conducting some research.”  
The pictures they can both see right now shows a large and bald pureblood, wearing a quite heavy black and grey armor, with a long cape on the back.  
“The subject is this man, Lord Scourge.”

She doesn’t really need to explain, which she notices when Val grows more solemn. She’s likely very familiar with him already.  
“Ah, the old Wrath.”

“It is, indeed. I need to know more about him, but while I could’ve done this elsewhere, the Imperial Citadel has the deepest archives, which cannot be accessed from exterior networks.  
From what I’ve seen thus far, Scourge is quite an interesting figure and not only because he has lived for so long. I’ve read some of the contents in here already and the story of his ascension was…particularly intriguing.  
Apparently, he was involved in some kind of mission to stop an infiltration from the Jedi. The files here have called this figure ‘Revan’.”

While she turns to study Val's answer, the mirialan sighs and runs a hand over her chin.  
“I can confirm that it’s true. This is an issue that I have done extensive research on myself and there is clear evidence from every associated element that Scourge was not only involved, but the foremost individual responsible for thwarting Revan’s plans of killing the Emperor. Or so they say.”

“Not entirely accurate then?”, Zal asks, but there’s a little bit of sarcasm poorly hidden beneath. 

“Of course not. The story is much more complicated, but it’s hard to know all of the details without having been there. Not much was left behind. What we do know, however, was how Scourge was rewarded for his efforts.”

Zal nods, turning to look at the large man once more. The two of them are very different, from all that she has seen and yet it can’t be denied that there are similarities too.  
“I suppose the Revanites have heard the story as well? What do they believe?”

A tentative second goes by, as Val ponders her response.  
“If I must be honest, they are…torn on the issue.  
Some believe that the idea of Scourge killing Revan is no more than a hoax, that Revan was actually his master and still is. Others claim that Scourge was not really involved in the situation whatsoever, that he was added into the mix later and how he’s nothing more than a distraction. A last small third group are confident that he was an ally of Revan, but was either converted or had no choice but to submit to the Emperor.”

Zal snorts and a small frown adorns her brow.  
“If the Emperor’s true identity is Revan, then he is nothing like how he was described in all those stories they speak of. Perhaps he’s simply masquerading as to not raise any suspicion, but I sincerely doubt that. If Revan still lives, it’s certainly not with the Emperor.”  
Shortly after, she glances at her companion again.  
“Or do you disagree?”

Val takes a deep breath, exhales it slowly and shrugs.  
“Honestly, I’m not sure what I believe, but it is a subject that I’m still looking into, by researching Meetra Surik. From all the information that my team and I have gathered thus far, I am confident that the truth will be revealed to me, if I continue searching.”

“Perhaps, but it’s likely to attract more enemies. They’ve already tried to kill you once.” 

She’s not even sure if she was completely serious with this comment, but from the look that Val gives her, there should be no need.  
“You think I’m afraid of them? By now, they should know that I do not give up, nor do I fall that easily. I will continue with my research, until I have what I need and no one can stop me.”

Zal smiles and briefly shakes her head.  
“Why am I not surprised? I suppose I pity anyone who gets in your way.  
Have you tried speaking to Scourge yet? He should know, right?”

It appears Val ponders this question as well, with her gaze slowly travelling back to the screen, surveying the pureblood.  
“I thought about it and it was a potential line of inquiry on my list for quite a while. However, I chose not to act on it for two reasons.  
One, I did not know whether I could actually trust him. Not just as a person or because of his affiliation to the Emperor, but in regard to giving information about the Order. He probably would have wanted to know and I cannot relinquish such important intel.  
Two, even if he would not act against us, I seriously doubt he would have told me the truth. He does not appear to be a particularly talkative man and seeing how so few people know what he did before or how he truly received this position, it seems unlikely that he intends to tell anyone.”

She can hear how Val has been thinking of this a lot and there’s little she can do to comment on it other than agreeing.  
“I do not blame you for being cautious. It’s the same reason for why I’ve been looking into his past.”

Val angles her head up towards her friend again, searching Zal’s eyes without the two of them having to share it.  
“You’re worried about his connection to Ktila, aren’t you?”

Despite how little she actually speaks of the Jedi and how careful the two of them have been with their relationship, those who are privy to the secret can easily read the results of the couple’s emotions. Zal exhales and looks down at the table.  
“Yes, in the same way that I distrust the Emperor. Is Scourge truly convinced that Ktila can defeat the Emperor like he has been telling her or does he have a more complex motive behind it all?  
Our encounters have been far too few for me to properly examine or assess his personality, values and strengths.”  
She furrows her brow, while shutting her eyes, doing her best not to let her presumptions run wild. They might start to consume her otherwise.  
“And then there’s Vitiate. What’s his real interest in Ktila? Does he care about her still? She was his captive for quite a long time. Could he truly not control her mind or did he simply not want to?”  
Opening them and turning her gaze back to Val, she shrugs briefly, exhaustion and worry seemingly have washed over her, elements she’s often haunted by.  
“It’s a lot of difficulties to deal with and I don’t even know how to approach them. Looking into Scourge and his background felt like an appropriate first step, though. If I know more about him now, maybe I can confront him, without letting him slip out of my grasp, and tear the truth from him.”

It’s not entirely rare that the two of them discuss their feelings, concerns and goals. Due to their backgrounds, similar chaotic initiations into the Sith and personalities that blend rather well, there’s a lot of trust in between these two. That said, Zal doesn’t always pour everything out so blatantly, doesn’t let herself be completely honest. Best not to squander the opportunity.  
“I can admire that you care so much for someone you love, darling, but I hope it doesn’t go too far. You should be careful, so that you do not stumble into more dangers than you can handle.  
There’s no need to take all the burdens yourself, you know. There are others you can rely on.”

While Zal does nod, there’s still something clearly skeptical displayed on her features.  
“Yes, I’m aware of that, but this is not as straightforward of an issue as I’d like it to be.  
I am the Emperor’s Wrath and if there’s someone I must be ready to deal with, no matter the circumstance, it is the Emperor. It’s a similar situation that I was in with Baras too. He’s my new master and if he endangers the Empire or the galaxy at large, am I not obligated to do my best in order to stop him?”

“You are and I’m glad you feel that way, but there’s nothing that says you have to be alone.”

“I know that, but even if I can reach out to others, who can I trust? Who is capable enough?”

Val arches her eyebrow, partially out of amusement, but also skepticism.  
“Uh, well, I can think of a few. I mean, there’s me, obviously. And Jaesa would do anything for you, wouldn’t she?”

Zal sighs and locks their eyes together, showing a little bit of guilt.  
“I knew you would say that and of course I trust you. There’s few people in this galaxy I trust as much as you, Jaesa, Vette and Quinn, but it’s not just about the people I feel that I can talk to, it’s who I can rely on in tough situations. Are you entirely certain that you would be able to fight the Emperor to the death? You are powerful and I respect that power, but Vitiate is on another level.  
When it comes to Scourge, it’s the same thing. Who can I trust more than myself to approach this matter in the way I want to? It has nothing to do with a lack of faith, but the simple fact that I am too afraid it will go awry.” 

There’s many things she could say here to make another argument or show Zal that there are alternatives, but she quickly realizes how hypocritical it would be.  
“I…guess I can’t really blame you. I know this situation all too well and I tend to approach most issues alone. Lana has scolded me for it several times by now.” 

Zal feels a sense of compassion, remembering the last time she was here and the mails she has received from some of those closest to Val afterwards.  
“Heh, I cannot say I am particularly surprised. Ashara and Francine have both sent various messages to expand on what happened. Perhaps it’s good that someone cares for you that much.  
How is Lana doing, by the way? Are the two of getting along alright? Last time I was involved, things did not end…spectacularly.”

Val begins to scowl and turns around to lean against the desk that the terminal is standing on.  
“For a while, it did. I apologized and we managed to find a way to continue without having to worry as much. That…did not last as long as I would have wanted. I screwed up again not too long ago and she’s even more mad at me now.” 

It’s common knowledge among Sith that Val is good at hiding her internal emotions with a layer of well-crafted mental barriers and uses her expressions to her advantage, preventing her opponents from truly knowing what she feels. When she’s around people she trusts, though, she tends to loosen some of those defenses and Zal can sense that uncertainty now.  
“Do you think it will be alright?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. For now, I’m giving Lana some time to consider the things we’ve discussed and to give us both a chance to think about our situation. If we doubt that it’s worth the effort to continue, then…well, I’d prefer not to focus on the future just yet.”

Zal decides to close the distance between them and places her hand on Val’s shoulder, squeezing it in a comforting manner.  
“If you need me, I’m always here for you.”

Val looks up, letting their eyes meet and search each other for emotions that might otherwise be hidden. Shortly after, she offers a faint smile in return and raises her own hand to envelop Zal’s.  
“I know. Thank you.” 

Before they can get back on track or move onto another topic, the doors to the archive suddenly slides open. Another duo walks inside, with only one of them being familiar to Zal.  
One is clearly Ensign Francine Daimort, Val’s assistant, a woman that Zal has run into several times by now. She’s very friendly and approachable, while still being quite capable of surrounding herself in a layer of professionalism.  
The other is also a female human, but her skin is much lighter brown than her companion, and her black hair much longer, held up in a ponytail. She’s also a little taller than Francine. The most distinct features on her though, are the two implants covering the area where her eyes should be.  
While the assistant is dressed in an imperial uniform, the woman next to her currently wears a violet-colored suit. In her hands, she carries a rather large box filled with items, while Francine merely holds a couple of datapads. 

Once they enter, Francine stops and widens her eyes when she notices who’s already in here.  
“…oh! My lords!”  
She immediately lowers her head into a bow.  
“I apologize for simply barging in like this.”  
Her companion acknowledges this information only briefly, before she tries to mimic Francine. Unfortunately, due to holding so much stuff, some of them begin to fall out of the box. The assistant gasps and quickly jumps up to prevent this from happening.  
“Watch out!”  
Luckily, she succeeds.

The other woman stands back up and swallows awkwardly.  
“Sorry. I guess I forgot.”

Francine breathes out in relief when she realizes they manage to save it and smiles. She shakes her head while caressing her companion’s cheek.  
“It’s alright, just try to be careful.”

Zal and Val both watch the whole spectacle with amusement clearly displayed on their faces.  
“Well, that was…interesting”, the former admits.

Val smirks at the two of them.  
“What’s going on here then?”

Francine clears her throat and turns back to her superior.  
“I did not know you would be here, my lord, nor that you would be accompanied by the Emperor’s Wrath. I hope we’re not disturbing you.”

Thankfully, Val merely shakes her head.  
“Not at all, darling. We were just discussing some personal concerns and aspects of the Empire. If you have important things to do, don’t let us get in your way.”

“Well,” Zal starts, “I am rather intrigued by your companion. Is this another one of Val’s employees or someone new?”

“Oh, that’s right, you have not had the chance to meet her yet. Well then, let me introduce you to Simiris, Francine’s girlfriend.”

When Val says it, Francine smiles, but she also looks a little bit embarrassed, as if she’s still giddy about people acknowledging Simiris in that regard.  
Simiris herself tries to incline her head in a less clumsy way this time, and compared to her partner, she speaks with a much more even tone and barely noticeable accent.  
“It is an honor to meet you, Lord Wrath.”

Zal nods back at her.  
“And you as well. I’m glad to hear that Ensign Daimort have found someone to be with.”

Francine’s smile quickly widens.  
“Thank you, my lord. Simiris is a very good person and wonderful to be with. She was just visiting today and even offered to carry some of my gear down here!  
Normally, she works with resource acquisition for Binary Star Realty, though.”

“The housing company?”

“That is correct”, Simiris admits. “If there is anything you need that we sell, I would be more than happy to introduce you to some of my colleagues, Dark Lord. We are always concerned with the interests and satisfaction of our customers.”

It almost sounds like part of a sales pitch, which makes Zal chuckle.  
“I’m sure you would. I’ll keep it in mind, I suppose.”

Shortly after that, they see a faint movement from this woman, as she appears to glance between the two Sith.  
“I hope you do not mind when I say that it is quite intriguing to see how one of the Emperor’s most public servants and a powerful Dark Councilor are perceivably such good friends.”

Neither of them seem particularly bothered by this comment. They do understand any concern, but also just simple interest. Very few of the Dark Council would normally be classified by that term.  
“Not at all”, Zal remarks. “Although I hope you do not find it strange. For us, it’s a rather obvious conclusion that we should stick together, as we were the first two non-human and non-pureblood Sith to have gained this sort of power.”

Val snorts.  
“Which a lot of people just _love_ to talk about.” 

They hear how Simiris clears her throat.  
“Well, there certainly are plenty of…rumors, my lord.” 

This makes Zal smirk, as she is very well aware of the specifics. They both are.  
“Ah yes, of course. I’m sad to tell you that most of those are exaggerated.  
Besides, while Valcera surely yearns for me, my heart unfortunately belongs to anoth-“

Before she can even finish it, she feels how Val slaps her side playfully.  
“Oh, shut up! We all know that the only one with yearning is you!”  
The room is soon filled with more laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _If it wasn't obvious, this was before Val found out the truth regarding Revan, at the end of her fic. I know that the timeline is a little bit screwed here, because like, in the other story, the date happens after the revelation. Or it was written that way. But, you know, don't worry about it so much. IT ALL MAKES SENSE (because I say so)_   
>  _And yes, there are many rumors in the Empire of those two being lovers, some of them created by other Sith. I'm not gonna name names (*COUGH* Vowrawn *COUGH*), but it does occur._
> 
> _If you haven't read "Through passion's gateways", my SI/Lana story, Francine and Simiris are both characters from that fic._   
>  _Simiris is a character who does not belong to me, but one that I have received permission to use from a friend of mine,[@disgruntledape](https://disgruntledape.tumblr.com/). There's some pictures available of her, [here](https://68.media.tumblr.com/cdafbc43762c4e65ad2cb191bcfdbf80/tumblr_messaging_oucgzbSmNH1qhl17w_400.png) and [here](https://68.media.tumblr.com/bf8ab2a0c6af0bea87240b824c4aaecc/tumblr_messaging_otzm6uo8cV1qhl17w_1280.jpg) (the sketch is drawn by my friend too!)._   
>  _On top of that, I also have a post with some Francine pictures now! Or well, sort of what she looks like, anyway (without the right outfit). They're available[on my blog](https://creativebankruptcy.tumblr.com/post/165324002050/someone-requested-reference-shots-of-ensign). _
> 
> _On Saturday, we're gonna have a Bery chapter. And no, it's not one that has been discussed in previous comments. Sorry, Kalareth, your request will appear later!_


	64. Torched (Sm)

Despite the many shifts in reputation and acknowledgement from the rest of the galaxy, not a whole lot has changed for the crew of the Hypertrail. They may have more contacts now, deal with drastically more equipment and supplies, as well as having several people actually working for them, even if it’s from a distance; that should not alter who they are at their core.  
It was Risha who suggested that Bery should hook a lot more transporters and smugglers in under her wings, into a sort of corporate structure, albeit somewhat less strict than that. Risha takes care of most of the administration still, being aided by Lenorr regarding financial concerns, but the Captain is pretty decent at organizing and communicating with their employees when necessary. In return for part of the profits, their company helps with coordinating trade runs for all ships, providing legal defense and temporary hideouts. 

All of this does not mean that their own ship isn’t engaged in a lot of activity as well. The Hypertrail still flies around the galaxy, shipping supplies and equipment to those who require and pay for it. Risha and Lenorr had both questioned this perspective at first, wondering if she shouldn’t try to focus on being in one place, but Bery would never agree to it. Not only does shave no interest in sitting behind a desk – something she often leaves to Risha – but she’d never let anyone else fly the Hypertrail. It’s her baby, her only personal ship thus far and treats it practically like family. To even consider simply letting it sit around or, stars forbid, allow someone else to pilot it, is unthinkable. She’d rather shoot herself in the foot. 

As the rest have had to give up on convincing her, most of them have chosen to stay onboard the ship and help out with the usual type of work that they did even before they got this far. This is why, when the Captain closes in on the cargo bay, she hears a lot of noise from two people talking within. Or rather, from one of them.  
“And as soon as Bowie stepped inside, those guys just flipped!”, Bery hears a voice saying, clearly identifying it as belonging to Corso, sounding not just enthusiastic, but highly amused.  
“Looked like they’d crapped their pants or something! He didn’t even have to growl at them, although he eventually did, of course. Seeing the opportunity, I told ‘em, ‘Look, that’s my friend over there and if you guys don’t hand over those crates, he’s not just gonna tear your arms off, he’ll eat you up, limb from limb!’ And they bolted! Never seen someone drop their guns and run that fast before.”

While he can be heard laughing, the one with him only comments skeptically.  
“Wookiees do not eat raw flesh. They would cook their food first and consume it with lots of spices.”

Corso sighs.  
“Not the point of the story, Akaavi! C’mon, where’s your sense of humor?”

“I knew it was not the point, but your stories end the same way, with someone being humiliated in a perceivably humorous manner. It is bland and exaggerated.” 

Bery is aware that those two have tried to discuss these kinds of things before, or Corso has at least. She’s fairly certain that Akaavi mostly despises him. Ever since Lenorr joined the ship, those two interact much better, mostly because the Mandalorian gets someone to fight with, which is the manner she prefers to ‘talk’ in.  
“You know what? You should try to loosen up and allow yourself to laugh sometimes. It’ll do you good. I’ve heard it keeps you healthy and positive.” 

“And I have heard that irritation and stress do the opposite. You induce both.”

It is at this time that Bery walks through the opening and displays a small smile in their direction.  
“Akaavi, Corso. Glad to see you two are still here.”

The Mandalorian merely inclines her head, while Corso smiles and waves.  
“Hey, Cap’n! Of course we are. Where else would we be, huh?”

“True enough, I guess. How’re you both doing? Everything fine in here?”

She can see that Akaavi carries some boxes around to various corners of the room, while Corso stands in the middle by the terminal.  
“Oh, we’re just checking our inventory, making sure that everything is as it should be. And having fun, of course.”

Akaavi sighs briefly and shakes her head.  
“That is not how I would describe it.” 

“Ah, she’s just being grumpy, but I know she enjoys it too. What about you, Captain? Did the trip to Port Zodric go well?”

Bery continues to approach them, but keeps her pace rather slow for now.  
“Yeah, for the most part, although things are getting kinda hectic over there now. Lots of people are flooding to it, more than they used to. I have a feeling it’s not gonna be as neutral as old Vhir hoped it would.”

“Well, what can ya do, eh? It’s kinda inevitable for the war to keep spreading, I guess.”

While she agrees with him, she glances at the other woman.  
“Could’ve used you back there, Spar. I can think of a bunch of people who would’ve needed a thrashing.”

Akaavi merely snorts.  
“I have no interest in that station. Too much people and noise. I do not fit in. I feel much more comfortable on the Hypertrail.”

Bery chuckles.  
“Hey, guess I can’t blame you. This baby has always been the best place in the galaxy.”  
Shortly after, she turns her attention to Corso.  
“By the way, have you been on the station lately?”

In return, Corso blinks in confusion and points at himself.  
“Who, me? No, can’t say that I have.”

“You’re sure? Didn’t visit our warehouse or anything? I know you haven’t mentioned it, at least.”

Corso folds his arms and leans back against the table, really trying to delve into his memories.  
“Well, I have been on the station at some point, obviously, but that was ages ago now. Can’t even remember my last visit.”  
He shrugs.  
“I mean, you know me, I’m not comfortable around those sorts of people most of the time. I hate how you gotta be aware of your vicinity at all times, so that you don’t get someone stabbing you in the back. That kind of atmosphere isn’t healthy for anyone.”

While he doesn’t see it, Akaavi notices a mysterious glint in Bery’s eyes.  
“Yeah, that’s true, you have always said that and it’s what I’ve always believed. That’s why I find this development so very…curious, I guess.”  
They both see how she puts her hand down into the pocket of her long vest and fishes something out. A small portable holoprojector drops onto the ground and initiates as soon as it hits the floor. The image it displays is that of the warehouse on Port Zodric, belonging to Bery and the team. As they watch, the doors slide open and an image of Corso enters.  
“See what I mean?”

Not only does he wander around, he also checks some of the containers and terminals, casually strolling from item to item like he has been here before.  
Corso himself widen his eyes in shock.  
“W-what? When…when was this? How did you get ahold of this?”

As the image of him grabs a couple of boxes and walks outside with them, Bery notices a hint of panic on the present Corso, but it quickly disperses.  
“Found it pretty recently, actually. Still don’t remember any of this?”  
Her tone remains curious, but the others feel as if a little bit of anger is slipping through. 

“No!” He waves dismissively. “I have no idea what the fuck that’s all about or where it happened. It’s not me, that’s for sure!  
Where did you even find this shit?”

She stands still and studies him for several moments before she puts a hand at her hip.  
“Back in the system on Zodric. Someone had tried to mess with our security cameras but, when Risha located a glitch, we hired someone to restore it.”

His eyes briefly shift around searchingly, although it’s hard to tell what exactly he’s trying to find.  
“This is banthashit, Captain, I tell ya. There’s no way this is true, I swear! I certainly don’t remember going into that warehouse lately or taking anything from it.  
You think this is someone trying to frame me? It’s not like that’s impossible, right? What with all the crazy slicers around the galaxy.” 

Bery shrugs.  
“Maybe. You got any enemies anywhere who’s capable of doing it?” 

“Well, uh…not any that I can remember right away, no. But there’s lots of people that have targeted our crew since we formed, so it could be anyone. And like, I’m not the only one that could potentially have enemies, as the whole crew probably does. Gonna have to look into it.” 

With a curt nod, the Captain wanders towards him and the desk close to him.  
“If you do, maybe you should start by looking into the sort of information you’ve been sending out.” 

Corso raises an eyebrow, still confused.  
“Uh, information? What are you talking about?”

Once more, she lowers her hand into her pocket and when she reaches the desk, she puts down a small item on it, like a chip of some kind.  
“Someone has been diverting a lot of resources, both digital and physical, to the Republic, using something similar to this little thing.”

Akaavi stands nearby, her arms crossed and brow furrowed.  
“What is that?”

While Bery speaks, she keeps her eyes firmly trained on Corso.  
“It’s a bug, a Republic one. From what my contact told me, it can slice through a lot of network security systems and then scramble them, hiding any traces that it was ever there. It’s been used to send a bunch of intel towards sources that I’ve been able to track as SIS.”

For each thing Bery presents, more and more of Corso’s defenses are starting to break, even if he attempts to keep up the façade of not truly understanding.  
“Captain, I…I’m not sure what you’re insinuating but, I promise you, I have nothing to do with this. If anything, I’m the one being used here.”

Akaavi snorts.  
“Sounds like a very convenient story to alleviate guilt. If the Captain truly found this info, it sounds like more than just an accident. Someone must be really eager to put you down, if that would be true.” 

Bery isn’t pretending anymore and has begun to frown.  
“Yeah, I agree with Akaavi, because I seriously doubt someone would go through all this effort just to fuck with you.  
I mean, think really hard now, Corso, you’re _entirely certain_ that you’ve got no fucking clue what’s going on? Perhaps this guy will jog your memory, huh?”  
A third piece of evidence is lifted out of another of her pockets, which is also a holoprojector, but showing a different image, this one of an individual they’ve encountered before. He seems to be talking with Corso here.  
“Recognize him? Rhonin, or Zachary Decraine from SIS. Used to be a contact of mine, even though I can’t say I was ever comfortable with it. Ring a bell yet? Or do I have to ring it for you?”

Corso takes a slight step back and clears his throat.  
“That’s…that was a while ago now, Cap’n. Like, many months, during the time we worked together. Seriously, I…I haven’t spoken with him lately at all and-“

“Shut up, Corso!”, she suddenly exclaims, while she slams the table with her hand.  
“That’s not true, and you know it! This was only a few weeks ago and something we managed to pick up through my other contacts. You think I’m clueless? You seriously believe I don’t have people everywhere who’s able to look this shit up?”  
She sighs, shakes her head.  
“I’m tired of your banthashit, Riggs. It’s time to be real. Tell me, honestly, why the hell have you been doing this?”

“I…I haven’t! You have to believe me Captain! I would never hurt you, never…never betray you, I swear!”

“The evidence clearly points against you”, Akaavi remarks.

The uncertainty on his features are now so obvious that it’s almost ridiculous that he’s still trying.  
“But…c’mon Akaavi, you can’t seriously tell me that you believe this, can you? I’ve been around here forever! I’m a friend to all of you!”

Unfortunately, he gets nothing back from the Mandalorian but a glare.  
“Friends have the best opportunities to betray you.”

Bery nods in agreement.  
“Yeah, it’s why that shit hurts the most. It’s also why I prefer to have as few as possible. Guess I had forgotten that as of late.” 

“Will you two stop it?!”, Corso practically shouts.  
“This isn’t real! It’s someone trying to hurt us all!”

Akaavi takes a few steps closer to him, but he moves almost at the same time, avoiding her.  
“I have hunted both beasts and people for much of my life. The hints of a lie are not hard to spot, if you know where to look. A stray glimpse, a wavering voice, a nervous twitch; you are not very good at hiding these things.”

“I agree”, they hear Bery saying.  
“And I also get pretty fucking tired of people never giving up, when they know they’ve lost. Thought I had dealt with douchebags like that enough already.” 

Corso closes his eyes, shaking his head and buries his face in his hands, probably trying to decide what he should do or where he might go. Bery stands ready to act in case he tries to run, but hopes he has more guts than that.  
“Alright”, he finally admits, “fine, if we’re actually doing this…yes, it was me. I have been talking to the Republic and…helping them.” 

Bery frowns and clenches her hands. She knew she was right all along, knew she simply had to push a bit more to get him to spill it and yet…it still hurts.  
“Why? Why have you done this? I want to hear the truth.”

When he reveals his face again, there’s exhaustion on his face and possibly some relief, perhaps due to finally tearing the lies down.  
“The truth, huh? Well, guess you deserve it. I’ve been sending a bunch of supplies to them that we owned, although not all. I’ve focused on some specific ones.”

“Which?”

“It’s been from shipments that were meant for the Empire and some of their stations. I altered the destination for some, so that they went to the Republic instead, or replaced sections of the contents in others, letting the imps get some defective gear. Not all, obviously, as I couldn’t do that much but, I feel like I’ve done enough.”

Bery looks a little bit confused.  
“Enough? Enough for what?”

“So that I could help people out, rescue them. Every defective piece of gear that the imps have received could’ve stopped a Republic soldier from dying and every supply stash that I’ve relocated went to people who needed it. The ones in the Republic who suffer, because the Empire invade their worlds.”

She isn’t sure whether she should be furious or frustrated. Perhaps both.  
“Ones who-…dammit, Corso, that’s not for you to decide!” 

“No? Then who is it?”

“What do you mean? They ordered stuff from us and we deliver it to them. That’s how it works!”

Even though he should be on the receiving end, on the forgiving section, he starts to meet her gaze with an equally fierce glare.  
“So, you’re taking the Empire’s side now? Is that it?! You want to help the fascists?!  
I’ve been tracking a lot of your transactions as of late, Bery and you do more business with them than you do with the Republic.”

She raises her arms into a half shrug, as she’s somewhat taken aback by that statement.  
“What? Where are you getting that shit from? It’s not even true! Have you checked the stats, the actual amount of shipments that we and our contacts handle? Even if we do business with lots of factions, the Republic is _still_ our largest partner and customer. And I could be angry about that, but I’m not. You know why? Because I’m not here to take sides. That’s not what we do. We deliver the stuff that people order from us and we get the credits we need.” 

At first, it appears as if he’s about to protest this notion and what she has said but, as she probably knows more of the administrative side of their company, he doesn’t see the point in it. Instead, he continues to focus on the morality of the issue.  
“And that’s the whole problem here. What you’re doing - what _we’re_ doing - is wrong, especially in war. We should be taking the side of justice, not helping tyrants.”

“Oh, get over yourself, you fucking low-grade Jedi wannabe. Who are you to decide who’s a fucking tyrant, huh? I know that I’m not and I won’t.”

“Wrong!”, he says and points at her.  
“We’re not just a bunch of smugglers anymore, Captain! We have power, resources and a lot of people working for us. All that stuff should be utilized appropriately and help out those who need it, those who deserve it. If we do nothing at all, then how are we better than the Empire?”

“And what, the Republic haven’t shot and destroyed people’s lives before? You don’t think this exists in the Republic too?”

“Who cares if it does?! That’s not the point!”

“Then what is the point?! Only focus on the biggest target of tyranny? If you’re so adamant about that, join the fucking Justicars and shoot at everyone you see!”

As the conversation is sort of turning into a shouting match, Akaavi tries to stomp the ground and get their attention once more.  
“While I am sure this is all quite intriguing, I am more interested in another aspect. What kind of intel is it that you have taken? Did you sell information about us?”

Once more, Corso takes a step back here, hesitating.  
“Well…no, that’s not entirely correct. I have been giving info to the Republic, yes, but most of it has been about our clients. They don’t really care as much for us, as they do those we trade with.”

Bery isn’t sure whether she should be horrified here, or impressed at his initiative. She decides on the former, as it hits her the worst.  
“Are you…are you saying you’ve been selling secrets about the people we trade with? The kind of stuff they tell us in the trust of a business relationship?  
Corso, what the fuck is wrong with you?! If you wanna do what’s right, why are you sabotaging our business, the stuff that doesn’t even have to do with the Empire?!”

“Because…because it’s the right thing! How can I trust my employer at all times, when I know that she associates with the wrong people, that she lacks basic morality and compassion?”

She stops here for a moment, trying to consider his words. Who exactly is he indicating here? The Empire?  
“The wrong people?”

“You know who I’m talking about! It’s that fucking Sith!”

Bery widens her eyes.  
“What? Lenorr?”

“Yeah, that’s what she wants to be called, but I’ll always know her as nothing more than Lord Tremor. It works much better for people like her, so you can hear through the banthashit and the evil within.”

His voice is filled with contempt and the two women senses that they’ve arrived at the heart of the issue.  
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Where are you getting this shit from?”

“Open your eyes, Bery! Can’t you see? Everything has been going downhill since she joined.  
At first, I was okay with her being here, as I figured she might make you happy or something, but it gradually got worse the longer she stayed. Suddenly, you’re fine with all of her fucked up methods, you prefer to focus on building your own underground group rather than privateering and worst of all, you even began to work for the Empire.  
She’s corrupting your values, Captain. You have lost everything you used to stand for.”

His words do have an impact, but probably not the one he had hoped. In fact, Bery is very perplexed, not being able to see this from the same angle at all.  
“My values? What the hell? That’s the most ridiculous nonsense I’ve heard in ages. Have you even met me, Corso? Have you talked to me before? I’ve been doing this shit for years.”

“That’s not true! You used to work for the Republic and you helped people out when they needed it.” 

“Yeah, exactly, Riggs; I _worked_ for them. I’ve never been _with_ them, never supported what they stand for, nor have I ever wanted to be a Republic citizen.”

“Of course you don’t want to do that _now_ , because you’re with that stars-damned Sith, but it would have been very different if she wasn’t here! You would’ve drifted towards the Republic, doing good things.” 

She suddenly scoffs and rubs a hand over her forehead.  
“Dammit and here I thought you were gonna stop spouting crap. You really don’t know me after all this time, huh? Maybe I should’ve figured that out sooner.”

Corso continues to scowl in her direction, obviously not enjoying the snide remarks.  
“The only way that this could have gotten better was if Tremor left, but I couldn’t make her do that. I knew she was too strong, knew I couldn’t challenge a Sith. What I could do, however, was help the Republic, be the moral part in our messed-up team. That’s what I’ve been doing, even though it’s what we should all be doing.”  
Apparently, Bery is getting tired of his spiel and he notices how she lifts her hand towards a specific location. Unfortunately, he knows her better than that and he acts ahead of her. His hand was already close to Torchy, his blaster pistol, and now he pulls it out.  
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Captain.”

Both Bery and Akaavi are mildly surprised, but neither of them cease to glare. Instead, both of them begin to separate, stepping sideways and creating a gap between them. He still has the upper hand, though.  
“So, that’s the conclusion of your plans, huh? You’re gonna shoot me?”

“No, I don’t want to. I’d never try to fire on a friend, but I will defend myself if necessary.” 

The tension in the room starts to grow to immense proportions and Corso’s eyes travel back and forth between the two women, making sure there’s enough distance.  
“Don’t think you’ll be having much friends after this.”

He exhales briefly and it’s clear that this situation is difficult for him, certainly not one he’d want to end up in.  
“Surely, you must have seen what’s been going on, Bery. Haven’t you listened to what she’s been telling you? She’s trying to control you.”

“That’s crazy! Lenorr is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. If anything, _I_ am the one who’s controlling _her_ , even if I wouldn’t wanna look at it that way. Didn’t she follow us out here? Haven’t her standards changed to emulate mine, rather than the opposite? That’s why she’s a freelancer and I’m not with the Empire. She has even started to actively speak out against slavery. What Sith would do that?”

“That’s…that’s not enough! It’s only empty words and never something she’ll actively perform. You deserve someone better.”

“Pfff. What, you?”

He stares at her for several moments and then looks away.  
“That’s not what I said.”

“But it’s what you fucking meant, wasn’t it? It’s what you’ve always wanted.”

“This isn’t about us, it’s about the greater good!”

“Oh, sure, use that excuse if you want, but it’s the coward’s way. Should I not be allowed to live my life the way I want?”

Even if he doesn’t look away all too much, most of his body language and facial expressions show that he’s very uncomfortable here, especially with being confronted in this way.  
“Of course, but it affects more people than just you. It’d be selfish to say anything else.”

The situation is now as uncertain and strained as it ever could be, so much that it’s virtually palpable. Even if he’s the one with the gun, by observing his eyes and feet, Bery knows that he’s trying to find some way out of this without using violence. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to.  
While his focus is on Bery, he’s a second too late to notice how Akaavi has approached him from the side and in her hands, she has some kind of metal rod that neither of them know where she attained from. 

Before he can get a shot off, the rod has already reached him and it knocks the gun out of his hands. He grits his teeth and raises his arms, hoping that it will be enough to defend himself against Akaavi, even though he knows she’s a dangerous foe, probably much more so than him within melee range. However, she doesn’t attack, only feints. Realizing what’s going on, he widens his eyes and turns to the opposite side.  
Unfortunately, he is too late to counter it, but the attack he anticipated does not arrive. Bery comes running straight towards him and her fist flies squarely into his face, with much more power and strength than he might’ve expected. He only has time to groan before he tumbles hard to the ground.

As he does, Bery towers above him, contemplating if she should just tear into him and really destroy him for all he has done, but she can’t bring herself to do it. Not to a friend.  
Instead, she merely glares at him as she stands there panting.  
_“Get off my ship”_ , she says, fury almost dripping from her voice. “I don’t want to see your face here again.”

Corso grits his teeth, wiping his mouth and slowly tries to rise. He offers her one last glance, but finds nothing in there that would be ready to negotiate. He follows her request and leaves the room as quickly as possible, holding a hand over his cheek.  
Once he’s gone, Akaavi looks towards her, trying to assess her Captain’s state.  
“How are you doing?”

Bery clenches her hands, the arms shaking somewhat while she attempts to control herself.  
“I don’t want to talk about it. Not now.”

Lowering her gaze, she sees something on the floor which Corso obviously couldn’t take with him – Torchy. Lifting a hand to her belt, she grabs her own blaster, unsheathes it and then unloads shot after shot into the other weapon, until there’s nothing left but scrap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _If you were wondering why Bery, Lenorr and Risha were all on Port Zodric the last time we saw them, this was why._   
>  _This was something I was going to deal with back in the first story I wrote with Bery, "Shattered Hyperlanes", but I felt that was too soon. I didn't want to rush into anything, when the focus was on getting Bery and Lenorr together._   
>  _Corso has never really liked Lenorr, though, and I felt like this was the best way I could solve the issue._
> 
> _Personally, I despise Corso in the actual game, for how he treats the female smuggler and women in general (especially when he's romanced), but I wanted him to leave in a story-related reason that made sense to his character. I don't enjoy doing pure "hate stories", where I just trash the character, so I at least allowed him to get out in the way that seemed Corso-ish._   
>  _I'm not going to pretend that Bery was entirely in the right here either. I mean, I think it's obvious by now that she's not exactly a "morally good" character. She's grey, have always been. She sticks by her friends, no matter where they come from, but she will never abide betrayal._
> 
> _The first chapter next week will be one with Cierah and her crew. We had two not too long ago but, it's important to the story. And I like Cipher Nine anyway so, YOU CAN'T STOP ME_


	65. Frozen reign (IA)

Darkened, star-filled skies and sharp frozen spikes with a layer of white is the most prominent sight upon the surface of Ilum. Normally, a world like this would carry little significance to most people in the galaxy, something that Hoth could certainly attest to. However, this icy planet has attracted both major factions in the galaxy in the last several months for some very specific reasons and that also draws other people into its grasp.

Even though one might expect a lot of violent activity on the surface, it hasn’t seen an abundance of that type for a few weeks now. Instead, things have been eerily quiet and there’s a certain tension instilled within most of those who are forced to stay here. That said, most soldiers assigned to guard any of the functional facilities in the area would claim that it’s far from enjoyable. Stillness, static positions and an almost unbearable cold is not a good combination, and it has a tendency to decrease morale.  
For this reason, most of the lookouts and scouts around one of the imperial bases don’t seem to notice the creature flying and circling above their stations. Despite the fact that the bird is moving in some very specific patterns, they do nothing more than dismiss it as another aspect of what little wildlife exists here. If only they knew what a mistake that is. 

Once the bird is done, it departs from the skies over this building and heads for the location where it lifted off from.  
Only a few kilometers away, behind some large rocks, Cierah stands up and raises her arm, bending it slightly as if to offer it as a docking pad. The owl, Cipher’s Menace, lands without much issue and then eagerly climbs towards her shoulder as she kneels down again. Menace ruffles his feathers, momentarily appearing like a fluffy ball as he tries to sit as close to his master as possible, probably due to the cold.

Shortly after, Cierah hears a noise from her communication’s implant and Raina’s voice appears.  
“How did it go, sir? What did your companion find for us?”

If one gazes upon Menace’s leg, it’s possible to see a tiny device – a camera. For something this small, it has quite a high definition and transmission rate, which is an aspect Cierah appreciates due to having wired it directly to her cybernetic eye, giving her the entire feed. It is a plan she has only started using recently, when she realized how clever her little bird can be. He has become quite an unexpected advantage.

“Security is fairly tight, as we might have expected”, she states. “However, they do have somewhat less than what I would deem as appropriate for a warzone.”

“Something we can exploit?”

“Possibly. There are three entrances; two large ones at either of the long sides and one small at the short end to the south. The latter is practically hidden in a crevice which has been created from to the snow and ice. I suppose they did not carve that section away when they planted this base.  
If I could make a suggestion for Raina and Lokin, it would be that you use that last entrance. It may be easier for them to guard, but we should be able to handle that.”

She waits a few seconds, assuming that her team is trying to evaluate what she’s telling them and scouting the same location.  
“Ah, yes, I believe we know what you’re talking about. We shall follow your suggestion, sir.”

From a position right next to Cierah, she hears another, albeit somewhat mechanical, voice.  
“Query: Which exit has the most soldiers stationed by it, master?”

Cierah gives HK-51 a brief glance. When she assigned positions to everyone, it felt most suitable to keep the droid close, at least until she knows him better.  
“The one furthest away from us.”

“Eager request: Then I wish to take my position there, if you do not mind.”

She sighs, realizing that she should’ve assumed as much. She has read up on some of the HK droids in various old files. It appears pretty much all of them love doing what they’ve been designed for.  
“Fine, you may do so, but keep in mind that we do not yet know if the situation will change. Once our distraction is initiated, their orders will likely be altered.”

As this is also heard over the comms, another voice joins in and Kaliyo speaks up.  
“Oh, these guys will _definitely_ be impressed”, she says, sounding pretty amused.  
“Scorpio and I have been rigging up a lot of fun stuff along one of their power stations. Think they might crap their pants when it sets off.”

Despite knowing what she assigned the duo to do, Cierah can’t help but shake her head.  
“Kaliyo…remember what we’re here for. I shouldn’t have to remind you but, we are not meant to weaken this station in any permanent way. Our goal is to inspect the stealth ships inside the factory and see how far they have gotten along construction, _not_ blow everything up. They might soon be done and my intention was for us to copy the blueprints and perhaps alter their future destinations, if we can get into the system. You do understand this, I hope?”

She doesn’t need to actually see it to know that Kaliyo likely rolls her eyes at this point.  
“Yeah, yeah, I know what our mission is, _mom_. I’m just having a little bit of fun while we still can. You don’t have to ruin everything for me, do ya?”

“Kaliyo-“

“Look, don’t worry, agent, it’s not going to hurt _most_ of those inside. Probably.”

Cierah exhales and rubs a few fingers along the bridge of her nose, doing her best not to make too much noise. They’re still supposed to be rather stealthy, after all.  
“Scorpio, can you confirm what Kaliyo just told me?”

She wouldn’t usually trust the droid with much at all, but in this case, Cierah puts more faith in her common sense than that of the anarchist. Unfortunately, Scorpio is not as amenable as she may have hoped.  
“I am afraid I cannot help you, Draconius”, she states in an even tone, and yet having an underlying amusement hiding beneath. “My databanks do not have sufficient information regarding the parameters of these types of explosives. I shall defer you to miss Djannis instead.” 

This makes Kaliyo laugh.  
“Well well, looks like old Scorpio is on my side! Guess it should’ve been obviously, really.”

Why did she assign those two together again? Perhaps it’s time to reassess the team setup for the future.  
“If things go awry, I swear that the two of you will get a joint punishment and it will not be pleasant.” 

“Oh, c’mon, lighten up, agent. We’re not gonna hurt your precious and kinda disposable people. Not much, anyway.” 

Cierah shuts her eye, trying to tell herself that Kaliyo is simply goading her. Hopefully at least.  
“I sincerely hope so, for your sake.  
And Kaliyo? Don’t call me that again.”

“Call you what?”

“What you said earlier.”

There’s a couple of seconds where Kaliyo is trying to remember it all. When she finally does, it definitely sounds like she’s smirking.  
“Oh, _I see_. So it’s only Raina who can-“

“Silence over the comms, please”, Cierah states loud enough for everyone to listen up. She hopes to calm the situation down by speaking to one of their other crew members.  
“Vector, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, Cierah”, he says calmly.

“Good. How’s our exit looking?”

Earlier, Vector had mentioned how he would prefer to avoid this type of cold, as it had some fairly adverse effects when they had traversed through the chilly landscape of Belsavis. Cierah agreed to it and Lokin seemed pretty excited about getting an opportunity to be in the field again anyhow.  
“So far, no notable activity has been spotted in the vicinity. Most of the patrols in the sky seems to ignore us, as expected.  
If necessary, we are ready to defend the ship, which is why the Warden’s weapons are currently on standby.” 

From Cierah’s experience, Vector rarely shows signs of being particularly worried, but she has been able to identify a few within his subtle nature. It does sound like he’s currently on edge, even if it might be difficult to discern.  
“That is fine with me, but I suggest you keep the cloaking device on for the time being. It’s unlikely that any of the other ships would be able to locate our vessel while it is active.”

“As you wish.”

Shortly after this, the last voice from the team is heard, which also happens to be the oldest. Well, out of the organics, anyhow.  
“Cipher, Ensign Temple and I have arrived at the correct location. With what we can see from this angle, it does seem pretty clear. There is a couple of guards, though, along with at least one turret, possibly even two.” 

Cierah nods, raising one of her hands to gently stroke it over Menace’s back. She finds it fairly reassuring, just as much as he does.  
“There’s no cause for alarm, Doctor. As soon as I hit the necessary systems on my own target, you will be fine and can move in without issue.”

Most of them have prepared for their various assignments and while Raina knows what needs to be done, she still sounds hesitant.  
“Are you absolutely sure that you wish to leave this task to me and Doctor Lokin, sir?”

This is an aspect that Cierah had expected to hear again. Raina never wavers when Cierah gives her an order, but there is a very noticeable lack of confidence.  
“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, with just the two of us, I still have doubts. You do not wish to come yourself? I’m certain we can rearrange our approach in just a few minutes. The probability of success is much higher with you.”

With only HK and Menace here, Cierah allows herself to display a small smile as she shakes her head.  
“I know you feel that way, Raina, but you should have more faith in yourself.  
I trust you and Lokin wholeheartedly to succeed here. Lokin may be old, but you should follow his advice when appropriate, as he does have more experience.”

She hears Lokin chuckling over the comms.  
“You know, I would be more offended if I wasn’t so aware that my joints will probably start to ache at some point during this little excursion.”

Raina sighs, but smiles as well, due to both of their comments.  
“Very well. Thank you, sir, for giving me a chance.” 

“There’s no need”, Cierah says calmly. “You will succeed, Raina, do not doubt that. Remember your training and stay calm at all times.”

HK chooses to comment on the situation as well.  
“Clarification: As the last assignment has the dire need of an individual skilled in slicing techniques, the tech-based abilities of master Draconius cannot be disregarded in order for us to accomplish this goal. It is unlikely that anyone else could penetrate their systems as competently as you, master.” 

Cierah rolls her eye, having hoped to give Raina the morale boost she needed, even if the Cipher knew of the other reason. She is the best slicer on the team, that cannot be denied.  
“…thank you, HK, but that is a mere detail, one which we certainly don’t need to discuss now.”

“Confirmation: Yes, master. Canceling leadership praise mode.”

Despite the damage he might’ve done, at least she can hear a few people laughing over the comms, one of them being Raina. It brings her some relief.  
However, it is now time to get serious.  
“Everyone, get ready for the start of the second stage of our mission.  
HK, get into position, please. Before you go, remember – only stun rounds. These are imperials and we do not wish to kill them.” 

HK stops only for a moment to address her before he leaves.  
“Reluctant explanation: Master, I still believe this to be an unproductive solution for our task, especially due to its importance. The intimidation and shock aspects will be severely reduced.” 

“You have already expressed your arguments, and while I respect them, I expect you to follow the orders I have given you.” 

He emits the sound of a sigh, even though he doesn’t really have lungs.  
“Disappointed confirmation: Yes, master, I will do as you say. You are the master.”

When he leaves through the snow at an exceptional speed, she creates a mental note to perform diagnostics on that droid at some point. Reprogramming him sounds unfair but, she also hopes he doesn’t have some kind of malfunctioning processes.  
After this, Cierah starts moving as well, heading towards a small transceiver placed on the outskirts of the base. It looks like nothing more than a cylinder in the size of a person, with a bunch of antennas connected to it, but Cierah knows that this can be utilized to physically slice into the security system with the right codes; ones that she, naturally, has acquired. 

Another minute or so of silence passes by and while most of the imperials in the nearby building are unaware, the tension for the team is growing. Not that they’re particularly worried about what they have to do, but it certainly feels like the calm before the storm, a sensation Cierah is very familiar with by now.  
If she glances to the side, she can see that Menace is a little unnerved too, perhaps sensing the emotional state of his owner. She hasn’t really considered how strong their bond has grown but, he always appears to react to things in the same way she does. Hoping to alleviate some of his tension, she puts her hand towards a small box attached to her belt and pushes out a small cube from it. It’s a type of snack that she prepared pretty recently, consisting of preserved meat, which he seems to enjoy. Not as much as the raw stuff he usually eats but, it is enough to calm him down when she feeds it to him.

It’s not long after this that the stillness of the situation erupts, with an explosion being heard in the distance. Only a couple of silent seconds passes by, until a loud alarm sounds across the factory, both outside and from within. The doors slide open and a lot of movement can be seen coming out of it, with imperial soldiers, mostly dressed in white, holding their guns at the ready. There’s no attack coming, of course, and they therefore relocate towards the building where their vehicles are stationed. A whole range of speeders starts up, most of them immediately flying towards the smoke in the distance. 

With a satisfied nod, Cierah tears off the thin plating to the interior of the network array and plugs a wire into one of the appropriate sockets. She works quickly, pushing in the correct codes on her datapad and gets past digital barriers that would usually try to bar her.  
“Raina, Lokin, I have deactivated the turrets by the entrance, as well as the cameras and unlocked all doors in your path. You should be able to move inside. Proceed.”

“Yes, sir”, Raina’s voice is heard rather quietly. While the two of them are equipped with guns that make less noise, they still will need some kind of distraction, which is of course why HK is here. 

The echoing sound of a sniper rifle can be heard across the valley and while he follows the orders from his master, it’s not like the soldiers being hit are unharmed. Before and after, his voice is heard over the comms.  
“Report: Target acquired. Firing weapon.  
Status: Target incapacitated. Switching mark.” 

In the meantime, Raina and Lokin, both of them equipped with the same kind of stun rounds, fire at the guards to their entrance and take them out before they can even react. The duo rushes up to the door and tries it out. Thankfully, it slides open immediately.  
“We’re in”, Raina states and then enters first. “We’re approaching the first interior door. No opposition so far.” 

Lokin is suddenly reminded of something and decides to inform their superior.  
“Cipher, do you think you could lock the other doors that lead to this corridor? Could reduce the risk of us running into patrols.”

“Affirmative, working on this right now.” 

Despite taking precautions and having Cierah help them to lock anything that would prevent their progress, Raina and Lokin still run into trouble. It appears a few imperials were already stationed here and they look in surprise when the duo wanders right into them. Thankfully, both of them are wearing helmets and visors, preventing anyone from being able to identify them at a glance.  
On top of this, even when they’re outmatched in numbers, their skills are clearly superior to these soldiers. Raina is a very good shot and Lokin can be dangerous both in mid-range, as well as with melee combat. 

In their very first battle, Raina manages to get stun rounds into two people, taking one down immediately, while the rest get into cover. Lokin advances once they do and gets in on the opposite side of the same barrier, with Raina trying to support him by providing suppressive fire.  
When the soldiers attempt to retaliate, Lokin appears from their flank. He has prepared and infused some of the rakghoul form’s strength in one arm and now utilizes it to punch one of their opponents in the gut, sending him flying backwards, knocked out almost immediately.  
The surprise of the other one exposes him to Raina, who puts several rounds into his back, letting him meet the same fate. After this, the duo continues.

They run into at least two more fights on a minor scale before they reach their destination, with one of them being a surprise for both groups. Thankfully, Raina manages to utilize her powers in one of these occasions and while she hasn’t spent all too much time trying to hone them, she has gotten better. She locks two of them down, letting Lokin move up close to knock them both out, with two swift punches to their heads. 

On the outside, with Cierah still doing her best to assist her comrades in all three locations, she’s too distracted to see what goes on in her surroundings. This suddenly becomes rather dangerous when she hears someone behind her.  
“Hey, what’s going on here? Who’re you?”

Cierah shuts her eye in annoyance. How could she have gotten this sloppy? She shouldn’t be able to be seen by common soldiers, even in a hectic situation like this.  
“I’m just…doing maintenance.”

The soldier does not seem particularly convinced.  
“What, in the middle of an attack? I don’t even recognize you. Hey, turn around and show yourself!”  
However, before she can get a chance to, Menace swiftly swirls his head around and looks with his sharp eyes directly towards the soldier, practically glaring.  
“Uh…w-what’s that bird doing here? It’s…looking at me funny.”  
Before he can say or do much else, Menace suddenly takes off and flies straight towards him, twisting in the air and turning his claws at their opponent. It appears the owl’s intensity was too much for this one and he flees.  
“No! No, get it off me!”

Cierah emits a severely unimpressed sigh and draws her pistol, putting a stun round into the poor man.  
Menace circles around and then comes back to his companion, receiving a thankful pat on his head in thanks.  
“Well done, boy.”  
He closes his eyes in appreciation and possibly a little bit of pride.

It only takes a few more minutes after this, until she hears a selection of words that she had been eagerly awaiting.  
“Sir? We’ve arrived at our destination and we have access to the hangar terminals.”

Cierah breathes out in relief as she kneels down by the array again. Her heart is still pounding, but she feels how she’s being filled with a sense of victory as well.  
“Good to hear. Status report.”

Raina sounds only moderately skeptical when she speaks.  
“Well, for now, there’s not much we can say. The hangar within is enormous, but…it’s empty.”

This was something that neither of them had expected. Empty? It should be filled to the brim with loads of ships, as far as they’ve been able to read from all the information they’ve gathered. Most shouldn’t even be done yet.  
“That is…strange. Maybe their cloaking devices are activated? They must perform regular stress tests on them, I’m sure. Perhaps we merely caught them at an inopportune moment.” 

“These ships are supposed to be upgraded versions of the Warden”, Lokin adds. “It’s possible that the upgrades have made these ones able to have stealth engines on for a much more extended period. Someone did mention how Darth Acina would be working on them, so it’s not inconceivable.  
Checking the console now.”  
They wait about a minute. The tension that had slowly been dispersing is now growing thicker than ever before. Even Kaliyo and Scorpio likely listens in on this.  
Unfortunately, when he next speaks, there’s disbelief in his voice.  
“But, this isn’t-…  
Cipher, there’s nothing here. There are no ships in the logs.”

Cierah widens her eye, momentarily stunned.  
“That cannot be right…can it?  
There should be no doubt that the vessels are definitely within this station. All our intel pointed towards it.” 

Lokin nods on his end.  
“Well, yes, according to what I can see within the terminal’s databanks, the ships _were_ here, but for some reason, all of them have been relocated.”

“To where? By whom?!”

“It doesn’t say.”

Cierah shuts her eye, sighs and rubs her forehead in frustration.  
“How in the Emperor’s bloody name is that possible? Dozens of stealth ships can’t just disappear, Doctor!”

“I know that, but I’m only telling you what I can see!”

Raina glances towards her companion and bites tentatively at her lower lip. Just to be sure, she grabs a loose item, some kind of tool that lies on the consoles nearby, and lobs it right into the empty open space. Sadly, all it hits is the floor.  
“He’s right, sir. There’s…there’s nothing here.” 

Cierah leans her back against the array, trying to catch her breath and calm herself down. What the hell is going on? What has happened here? Where did a supposed armada of stealth-capable vessels disappear to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I've kinda considered the idea of Menace being some kind of Force-sensitive bird or something. That would be kinda funny. Either way, he's a smart one._
> 
> _Normally, Cierah would've used some kind of codenames and stuff, but didn't feel the need this time._   
>  _They were A) using short-range, better secured comm devices and B) Cierah was pretty sure that she could circumvent the imperial network, especially when they don't have an intelligence service anymore._
> 
> _Also, I think I forgot to mention this somewhere, but a couple of weeks ago, I decided to take reference screenshots of Cierah's family. I have ones of her[two](https://creativebankruptcy.tumblr.com/post/165277272755/admiral-dreya-draconius-one-of-cierah-and) [mothers](https://creativebankruptcy.tumblr.com/post/165277473145/administrator-margetha-draconius-one-of-cierah) and her [little sister](https://creativebankruptcy.tumblr.com/post/165277038295/lieutenant-vivianna-draconius-cierahs-little)._   
>  _Her mothers are supposed to look a bit older but, I couldn't find any wrinkle options or any reasonable complexions that didn't look like dark side corruption._
> 
> _The last Reezah/Elara chapter in this particular story will be up on Saturday._


	66. Attached to possibility (Tr)

The city of Hamasuun on a Republic-controlled world called Shiendra. The last couple of weeks have been disastrous for the population, as the Galactic War has arrived on its doorstep, and without any particular abundance of defenses, it was not ready for the kind of weapons that the imperials would bring. The Republic has done its best to reallocate forces in order to push their enemies back, but for many civilians, there’s no other choice now than to flee. This is why a general evacuation order has been issued within the city.

In the outskirts of Hamasuun is an orphanage, one that sadly had been getting more populated when the war grew worse on the surface. At this time, two of the caretakers who were working here when the latest strike began have had to hurry down to the basement with loads of children, pretty much the entire establishment. They have been told to wait here for now, as they can’t be escorted out while the battle rages; it’s too dangerous. That said, with the distant explosions and eruptions of blaster fire, the caretakers are wondering if it’ll really be any safer to stay.

The room is filled with noises, despite the caretakers’ insistence that most should stay quiet as to not attract attention. A few of the children are crying, others are talking worriedly or trying their best to stay distracted. All of this goes completely silent when they hear sounds from above and how someone or something is moving outside the door. The caretakers immediately shift their positions to stay in between the children and the door, but hope that nothing will happen. Unfortunately, they’re not that lucky.

Because door is locked, those outside begin to hammer at it until they can pry it open. Light from the outside shines down onto the fairly dimly lit room and blinds most of the denizens, scaring the children even further. While the person who enters is certainly in heavy armor, they do not pull any weapons towards the people inside. Instead, she merely raises a hand in a reassuring manner.  
“Don’t be afraid, we mean you no harm! I am Major Hiktesh of Havoc Squad.”

The caretakers gasp, look at each other and then addresses the togruta.  
“T-The Republic?!”

Reezah nods and the further down she comes, the better they see the blue and white armor, and her rather friendly appearance.  
“That’s right. We’ve come to escort you out of here. Come with me.”

“But…the other soldiers said we can’t leave, that there’s too much fighting around here.”

“Yes, I know and that was the case for them, but we’ve got shuttles with us to fly you above it. We’ll take you to the Republic base and make sure that you’re all safe.”

Everyone seems quite relieved to hear what they’re being told, not having expected such luck. The caretakers help the children up the stairs and out towards the small front yard. Out here, the results of the fighting are even more evident and difficult to accept. The smoke in the distance almost appear to litter the horizon and resident blocks have been reduced to rubble.

On the grass surrounding this building they see how two vessels, Republic shuttles, have landed and stand ready to receive their passengers. Reezah knows that one is driven by Jorgan, while Vik takes care of the other. M1-FX guards the vicinity, while Elara and Yuun help Reezah with making sure that all the children leave the orphanage and that they move in an orderly fashion.  
Jorgan sits behind the controls of the shuttle where the children are pouring in and monitors the internal scanners as he waits for everyone to get on board. Havoc knows that they won’t all fit in the first shuttle, which is why they’ll be taking the one piloted by Vik. Obviously, Havoc will fly first, hopefully decreasing the danger to the kids.  
When most of the children are leaving the building, two in particular get a little bit too excited, bumping into some of the others and stumble to the ground. The caretakers call out, but Reezah raises her hand as she runs over to that location.  
“Don’t worry, I got this!”

When she stops by them, she sees a blue-skinned twi’lek girl and a mirialan boy with yellow-green complexion. If she were to determine age, she’d say that both of these two are likely under 10, but somewhat above 5. Either way, they’re very small in comparison and Reezah can easily lift both of them with one arm each and carry them over to the rest of the group. As she jogs with them towards the shuttle, Elara sees it all transpire and she smiles, not being able to hide the enjoyment she gets from seeing her girlfriend with two kids like this.

Unfortunately, while Reezah makes it in time, they see how the shuttle’s floor is almost full to the brim and if they push the last two in here, it might be too tight.  
“Well, shit”, Reezah says, before she clears her throat and looks down at the kids, hoping they didn’t hear that.  
“Uh…nevermind.”

The caretakers don’t seem particularly satisfied either, looking at the duo with worried eyes.  
“Could you…maybe take them on your shuttle?”

Elara stands not too far away and Reezah glances towards her.  
“Well, I mean, we could but…”, the Major says with reluctance displayed all over.

Elara sighs and folds her arms.  
“They will fit in our vessel, but as we have to take point, they will be exposed to more danger.”

“More so than if we pile them up in here?”, one of the caretakers asks.

Reezah shakes her head.  
“Alright, we’ll take ‘em and get them to you as soon as we can.  
Jorgan, get going!”

Soon enough, the doors close and the shuttle gets ready to leave. At the same time, the remaining members of Havoc all relocate to Vik’s craft.  
Elara momentarily gazes upon the two kids in Reezah’s arms, seeing the worry across their faces for being separated from the rest.  
“Don’t worry”, she says reassuringly. “You will see your friends soon enough. For now, you shall have to ride with us, but most of us are rather friendly.”

Reezah snorts.  
“Yeah, just don’t talk to Vik.”

Vik gets the engines running again when everyone gets on board and he pulls the vessel straight up into the air. With Jorgan following them, they retreat from the city, back towards the nearby Republic camp.  
Along the way, Elara looks at the duo they brought with them and speaks while she offers them some water.  
"What would you like us to call you?"

They are uncertain for the most part, still scared, but Elara’s presence seems to have a soothing effect.  
“Abi’zah”, the twi’lek explains. “And he is Karcel.”

Elara smiles.  
“Such beautiful names. Once we get back to base, I’ll make sure you both get something tasty to eat.”  
  


* * *

  
After another successful mission, the members of Havoc find themselves back within the safety of the Meteor, which is currently parked in the only Republic camp in the region, far away from any fighting.  
The evacuation was mostly a success, especially for the orphanage, even though they now have even less knowledge of what the future entails.  
The two children Reezah carried with her out from the building were so scared when they had fled that they didn’t want to leave her side and so, for the time being, the Major has allowed them to stay within hers and Elara’s cabin.

Just as some may have expected, Elara has already taken to the pair and she has done her best to make them comfortable. She managed to find a few shirts and pants among the Republic supplies that the two could use, and while the clothes are a little too big, it’s definitely better than the dirty ones they wore previously.  
To keep them entertained, she has also handed them a few datapads, which included some basic interactive games. Jorgan complained that they can’t just give this stuff away, but Elara wasn’t about to listen. Not when it comes to two children that obviously need the security and a chance to calm down.

As a couple of hours have now gone by, Elara sits and watches the duo from afar. From what they’re saying and the general noises they’re emitting, she guesses that they’re having fun and it makes her smile.  
Reezah enters the room and she starts by giving the kids a glance, as well as a wave when they look at her, before she sits down next to Elara. Both of them have removed their armors now and sit in looser casual gear.

“I spoke to the caretakers”, she quietly explains to the Captain. “Seems these two came from different districts of the city. Both of them lost their parents during some of the latest strikes and even though it’s not a 100% certainty, it does unfortunately appear to be the most likely scenario. Not looking good either way.”

Elara sighs, sadness displayed over her face as she lowers her gaze to the floor.  
“Those poor children. I know this is one of the tragedies of war, but…I truly feel for them. They haven’t even fully understood what kind of suffering is ahead and it will only get worse.”

Both of the soldiers can see how the kids don’t seem particularly sad themselves, sitting there as if nothing has happened, but they don’t need to guess much to realize it’s probably due to not yet knowing how to deal with tragedy.  
“I know, it’s not gonna be fun.”

“They’re such interesting people too. I spoke to them a few hours ago and tried to get to know them. Abi’zah is a lot more confident than we saw earlier. She likes to be in control of herself and her situation. Karcel is a very sweet boy, caring not only for himself, but for the others in the city who suffer.  
They’re clever, understanding the world around them more than I had expected.”

Reezah nods, moving her hand to one of Elara’s and the human can feel how one of the lekkus gently caresses her back.  
“I know what it’s like, even if I was a bit older when we left Balmorra. It was difficult for us all, especially my brothers.”

Elara turns her attention towards her girlfriend then, stroking a thumb on the back of Reezah’s hand.  
“Of course. I remember how mentioned that your reaction was a lot more…volatile.”

Reezah exhales softly.  
“Yeah. Unfortunately, that time was very…hectic for everyone involved and it was not easy to cope. Not only was I older than these two, but also angrier.”  
She raises a hand to scratch at her neck.  
“I can still recall how pissed I was at everything and everyone. I wanted to do something about it, get Balmorra back, avenge my parents. I could only see the deaths and all I wanted in return was to watch the Empire burn. Some of those feelings stayed with me for many years and I grew hungry for the chance to shoot every imperial who have ever lived.”  
Even if she realizes that Elara understands the true meaning of this, she still glances in the Captain’s direction, feeling the need to clarify.  
“Obviously, that’s different now, because I’m different.”

Elara offers her a small smile, raising a hand to caress Reezah’s cheek.  
“You don’t need to tell me that. I know and respect your feelings, dear.”

The Major seems to appreciate the sentiment and one of her lekkus moves to embrace Elara’s shoulders, making the Captain lean against her.  
“True, but…you know, it’s still hard for me to consider the people who suffer because of war and yet I’m part of that. I know I can do something, but I want to do more.”

Hearing these words partially help to explain Reezah’s outburst against the Supreme Chancellor several weeks back, but Elara already understood the intent.  
“I agree. It’s why I feel for these children. Society shapes us all, whether we like it or not and when you’re surrounded by death and destruction…well, it doesn’t bring any positive vibes.  
I hope these two can at least stay with us for a few days. They need to see that there are some good people out here.”

“Of course, I don’t mind. We don’t need to leave just yet anyhow.”

While they sit and watch the duo, not only does Abi’zah seems to be the most confident, but also the loudest of the two. She likes to laugh and explain herself in rambunctious tones, but doesn’t go so far as to get mean or bully. Despite Karcel’s quieter voice, she listens to him and lets him suggest other things to try out.  
Karcel also seems to be rather observant, noticing some things that the twi’lek doesn’t and when they find some new game or program to try, he appears to be quickest at mentioning these things.

During this time, Reezah also takes the opportunity to study her girlfriend while Elara rests against the Major’s chest. She sees how the Captain’s expression softens in certain playful moments and her eyes often glisten with emotions that approach longing, which makes Reezah unsure.  
She eventually decides to clear her throat and explain something.  
“By the way, it’s…probably best not to get too attached.”

Elara blinks in response and looks up with confused eyes.  
“What do you mean by that exactly?”

Reezah looks slightly uncomfortable, diverting her own gaze. Perhaps that was too obvious.  
“I uh…y'know, just thinking about your feelings. This might get a little bit difficult.”

“What will?”

“The situation for these kids. Once this is over, they’ll probably go with their caretakers and the rest of the orphanage, to find a safer place on an Inner Rim or core planet. My guess is that this will be for the best too.”

Elara raises an eyebrow quite skeptically.  
“I don’t recall saying that I wanted to do anything different, though. Did I? What are you trying to insinuate here?”

Reezah coughs somewhat awkwardly and Elara sees how her lekkus twitch in a manner that the Captain has spotted before. She’s either embarrassed or very unsure, like she’s in deep water.  
“N-Nothing! I wasn’t implying anything special, just…  
My point was that I wanted to indicate how it’s probably for the best not to let your thoughts stray too far. You might get disappointed.”

Elara tilts her head curiously. She’s not angry or offended; in fact, she finds Reezah’s behavior a little bit funny. That said, to truly push her intentions forth, Elara needs to pretend that she’s somewhat miffed.  
“Are you afraid that I was going to suggest we adopt them?”

“That’s…that’s not what I said!”

“It did sound like you were heavily implying it.”

“Erm, well…” She swallows audibly. “I mean…I _suspected_ that there might have been a possibility for you to approach such thoughts. Not that I believed you’d definitely do it or anything, but it seemed like a reasonable conclusion. Maybe.”

Elara tries to take more direct actions and raises a hand to Reezah’s chin, forcing them to look into each other’s eyes.  
“Why does it scare you so?”

Reezah doesn’t have an immediate response, which is why she bites at her own lower lip, trying to keep her emotions in check and the doubts that linger in her mind.  
“I wasn’t scared, exactly. It just kinda looked like…I dunno, like you might be longing to keep them here with us.”

This answer seemed pretty obvious, but Elara snorts in amusement regardless.  
“Alright, that thought may have crossed my mind, but I would never make such a suggestion. Not now.  
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very tempting prospect, as these kids are very sweet and I’d love to get to know them even better, but I understand it can’t happen. They deserve a life that is more than what having two warring soldiers as mothers could do for them.”

There’s a sense of relief in Reezah’s chest, that she doesn’t have to make this argument on her own.  
“Yeah, pretty much. I can attest to what that might eventually lead to, even if my parents weren’t exactly special forces. It’s…not easy and you worry all the time, worry that you’ll never see them again and how they might not come home.”

Elara turns her gaze to Abi’zah and Karcel once more, seeing how they still have fun and don’t even seem to realize what sort of conversation is going a few meters away. She can’t help but sigh longingly, despite what she just said.  
“I would love to give them a good home, to make sure they’re safe and cherished, but it won’t be a good one if they’re with the two of us, no matter how strong I wish for it to be.”

Reezah moves both her arms around her beloved, kissing the top of her head and pulls her close.  
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

Elara briefly shakes her head and shuts her eyes.  
“Don’t be. I don’t blame you, as it was a reasonable thought and fear. One day, hopefully, this will be different.”

“Yeah, it definitely will, I swear. We will have kids, Elara, when the time is appropriate. For now, perhaps it’s best if we make sure that these two get a good home somewhere else.”

They sit like this for a few moments, not noticing what else happens in the ship. Due to this, they don’t actually see how the kids move, until Abi’zah taps Reezah’s leg.  
“Are you…okay?”

Reezah looks at her confusedly.  
“What?”

“Karcel and I got worried. You looked so sad.”

The mirialan boy nods.  
“We don’t want you to be sad. You’re so nice.”

The two women glances at each other, realizing what affect they already have on them. Reezah chuckles and shifts the location of her arms to lift Abi’zah up.  
“Don’t worry, kid, we’re fine. We just felt like hugging for a bit. Happens when two people like each other a lot.”

That seems to satisfy both of them and the twi’lek looks up at Reezah with interest.  
“So, what’s it like to be a soldier? Do you like it?”

It appears that she is just as forward and direct as Elara explained and Reezah figures it’s probably best to indulge her.  
“Some days it is, others not so much. I got some interesting stories though, if you’d like to hear them.”

“Yes, I do! Please tell me!”

At the same time, Elara smiles and moves towards Karcel, sitting down on the floor with him.  
“Can I join you?”

Karcel nods and offers her a similar expression, albeit more shyly.  
“Yes, please. You want to play a game?”

“I certainly do, dear. Show me what you like and I will try to keep up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I haven't yet decided if I'm gonna let those two kids be involved with Reezah and Elara anyway. Might happen after all, we'll see._
> 
> _The first chapter next week will have Jovana doing some mando stuff._


	67. Tenacious grasp (BH)

When Jovana was invited to the current clan Lok camp, on a world not too far outside of imperial space, what she had expected was a mandalorian version of a military camp. Perhaps a bit more rugged, with more booze and somewhat more fighting. What she hadn’t anticipated was how much commotion and cheering she’d walk into from all corners, intermingled with the sound of gunfire. It’s not like she has stumbled into a battlefield, as there would surely be a lot more movement and explosions, but there’s definitely something weird going on.

After approaching the center of the many tents and buildings, she finds a very interesting structure placed in the middle – a fighting pit. Not only is it out dug out from the ground, but there’s even a huge steel cage around it, providing a very specific area where combatants are allowed to roam.  
Looking past the cheering crowd of warriors, she can see two people battling each other within. She can’t recognize either of them, due to both wearing armor and helmets. After she gets a bit closer to the cage, she decides to tap the shoulder of one of the nearby onlookers.

“Hey, what’s happening?”

A weequay and a twi’lek turns to look at her, and widen their eyes in surprise.  
“The Grand Champion? Whoa, didn’t think we’d see you here right now. Welcome!”, the twi’lek exclaims.

Of course, who in the clan isn’t familiar with her appearance by now? She’s not sure exactly how, though. Did Mandalore distribute pictures of her face to the entire clan? Maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising. He is weirdly proud of her.  
“Thanks. Anyway, what’s that you got in the middle?”, she asks and nods in the direction of the cage.

“Oh, the cage? It’s part of the tournament Mand’alor wanted us to have.”

Jov arches her brow curiously.  
“Tournament?”

“Mhm, to let some of our younger fighters prove themselves. They only use stun rifles, so there’s no deaths. The ones in the pit right now are fighting for a spot in the quarterfinals. On the right, in the blue armor, that’s Imalkh, a pretty tough zabrak. Guy’s not the quickest, but he can endure a lot of punishment. I think that’s why he’s come this far.  
On the left, you’ve got Vyrix, a young mirialan who’s in her first proper tournament. She has showed a lot of skill so far, actually. Some of the bets on her winning are increasing.”

Jov widen her eyes then, obviously familiar with that name.  
“Vyrix? Shit, she’s into this sort of thing?”

“You know her?”

“A little bit, yeah. Met her on another station a couple of months ago. We went on a hunt together. She’s nice but, not very confident.”

The twi’lek nods slowly.  
“Yup, sounds like her. It’s why people were kinda skeptical when she said she wanted to be in this one but, as you can see, she’s shattering everyone’s expectations.”

Due to hearing this, Jov decides that she can wait with looking for Mandalore, which is why she’s here in the first place, and instead watches the fight.  
The match is a pretty tough one, although not particularly lengthy. Vyrix is smart and swift, but Imalkh is hard to take down. He is the one who keeps pushing, continuously advancing on her position, past the various makeshift covers that they have planted within the cage. Except for the stun gun, a stun baton is also allowed for close range engagement and despite occasionally firing at her, it appears that this is the way which Imalkh prefers to fight.  
When he tries to close in on her cover, it very much looks like this will be the move which ends Vyrix’s place in the tournament, but once more, she surprises the crowd. She dodges his strikes, gets around the other side of the cover at a very quick speed and then delivers an attack with her baton to the back of his knee. When he stumbles, she seizes the opportunity to put several stun rounds into his back and he falls. The crowd erupts in cheers a second later.

Jov grins triumphantly and applauds with everyone else, before she decides to head up to the cage, hoping to say a few words to the young warrior. Once the noise dies down, she sees how Mandalore himself appears next to the pit and raises an arm to get everyone’s attention.  
“And the victor is Vyrix, after an impressive maneuver! She has now advanced into the quarterfinals. Give her another round of Lok appreciation.”  
The clan cheers for her once more, someone firing a few blaster shots into the air. He’s about to announce the next contestants, when he spots someone else that make him smirk.  
“And who is it that has come to join us? Everyone, let us welcome Grand Champion Vlasic!”

Yeah, this was exactly the kind of thing she had hoped to avoid, which is why she looks a little bit embarrassed as she waves and smiles at those who applaud her presence or pat her on the back as passes by.  
“Hey, I guess.” 

“That all you got, huh?”, she hears a deep voice saying to her from the side and when she turns in that direction, she spots Neeraka in his brown armor, seeming particularly pleased.  
“Is that all the Jedi heard before you took ‘im down too?”

Jov smirks trandoshan and shakes her head.  
“Shut your mouth or I’ll do it with the lightsaber I took from his corpse.”

Those who hear it start to laugh, especially Tendarr who is right next to Neeraka.  
“Now that’s the Champion we know!”

Just as she arrives next to Mandalore’s position, Vyrix steps out from the cage and smiles somewhat shyly towards Jov.  
“Champion, it’s good to see you again.”

Jov returns the gesture and pats the younger woman’s shoulder.  
“Tsk, no need to call me that. I’m just Jovana to you now, kid. And by the way, excellent fighting in there. Couldn’t be prouder of ya.”

Vyrix widens her eyes and blushes.  
“You…you saw the fight?”

“Half of it, yeah, and it was really impressive. I still remember your performance on the hunt, but this was something different. For someone so young, you’re one helluva fighter.”

This makes Vyrix smile brightly.  
“T-thank you! I do my very best. I want to be like you some day.” 

“And if you keep this kind of skill up, you’ll reach it in no time. You’ll be a dangerous foe in a couple of years. Looking forward to hearing people tell stories about you instead.” 

Seeming satisfied with this conclusion, Mandalore takes a few steps closer.  
“I definitely agree. You did very well, Vyrix, but don’t let it get to your head. You’ve still got a couple of matches left.”

Vyrix nods and puts her closed fist to her chest in a salute.  
“Yes, Mand’alor! I will go stretch and prepare.”

After giving Jov a quick hug, she runs off and the human duo gazes after her.  
“She really likes you, y’know”, he comments.

Jov shrugs.  
“Heh, yeah, I’m aware. She’s a good kid, reminds me of some of the people I used to fight beside back on Nar Shaddaa.”  
She doesn’t say it, but she certainly hopes that Vyrix lasts longer than they ever did. 

Mandalore redirects his attention to Jov.  
“Well, let’s go speak in private, shall we? Got a few things to tell you.”

“Sounds good to me.”

He then redirects his attention to the trandoshan not too far away.  
“Neeraka, I’m heading off to discuss some things with the Champion. Lead the tournament in my absence, will you?”

The choice is pretty obvious, as Neeraka often takes a second-in-command type of position in the clan.  
“Yes, Mand’alor”, he says with a quick nod.

Once the two of them leave, they approach and enter a small temporary building, no larger than a single room, where Jov finds a bunch of items, datapads and boxes all strewn around. Seems like he hasn’t made much of an effort to clean or keep things tidy while he’s here. And who can blame him? The war and the clan are more important than order.  
This is where they take the opportunity for a proper greeting, as Mandalore raises his arm to hers and they bump their bracers together.  
“Su cuy’gar, Jovana. It’s good to have you back among us.”

“Su cuy’gar, Mand’alor. It’s good to be back.”

“How have you been doing, huh?”

She shrugs as he steps further inside, moving over to a device on the far side of the room, probably a refrigerator.  
“Meh, it’s been pretty decent, I guess. The war has provided me and my team with a lot of hunts, but I’m still not too fond of all the large-scale battles that the imps try to force me into.  
Like I’ve said before, I prefer a duel rather than a warzone.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Ne’tra gal?”, he asks, while lifting up a small sealed cylinder.

“Sure, if it’s cold.”

“Always”, he says and tosses it to her, which she easily catches. He then gets one for himself too and unseals it. He usually prefers drinking from a mug but, it appears he doesn’t have a lot of options here.

“By the way”, Jov starts, her lips curling into a smirk, “should’ve told me about the tournaments. If I knew you had them here in the camp, I might’ve been interested in joining one or two, after this kiddy version is done with.”

He snorts amusedly and waits with his response until after he has had a sip of his drink.  
“What, so you could win?”

“Hey, that’s not necessarily true. I’m fine with using a handicap. Could’ve told me to tie one arm behind my back.”

“I prefer to not completely embarrass my clan, Vlasic. They’d feel too humiliated when the story of a one-armed warrior beating the entirety of clan Lok gets out.”  
That makes Jov laugh. He certainly has faith in her.  
“How’s Mako and Torian doing? And…whatever the other ones were called.”

Jov grins.  
“What, already forgetting the members of my team?”

“Bah, I can’t be expected to remember these things. Wait, the little guy is Blizz, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. And I guess I shouldn’t blame you. You are getting old.”

He glares at her, but she knows it’s in good humor.  
“Shut your mouth, _kid_.”

Jov chuckles once more and the takes a few sips of her own, before she decides to pursue the subject.  
“They’re both doing fine, I suppose. Mako is helping us all out, like usual, and Torian is expanding on his training for the most part.  
He’s actually been running a few solo hunts every now and then. Apparently, he kinda wants everyone to realize that clan Cadera still exists, even if they’re not a big deal anymore.”

Mandalore gets a thoughtful look in his eyes as he nods.  
“Can’t blame him. Cadera was always a proud clan, even if we rarely agreed on things.”

“As for Mako, she’s still doing well, but sometimes I feel like she’s pushing herself too hard. She does pretty much all critical stuff for the hunts, outside of the actual fighting, of course. She’s really living up to the same role that Braden had.”

“Her old mentor?”

“Yeah. I think she wants his legacy to persist by showing how much he taught her. Personally, I believe she’s doing better.”

Mandalore smiles and sits down on one of the crates in the room.  
“I’m glad that your team stays together and that you continue to thrive. The galaxy needs to know there’s people like all of you out there.”  
For a moment, his expression falters and he solemnly look down on the ground.  
“But I’m also worried.”

She hadn’t expected such a quick turnaround and tilts her head curiously.  
“For what?”

“You’ve been doing a lot of work for Malgus lately, haven’t you?”

“Well, yeah. He’s the one who got us back in with the Empire and he offers most of the hunts that they pay us for. Pretty good amounts too. Not the richest bounties, but not the shabbiest either.”

“Figured as much.” 

Mandalore isn’t being very direct, which sort of confuses and worries Jov. There’s clearly something on his mind, but he is either reluctant about telling her, or how he’s going to approach it.  
“What’s your angle?”

He takes a deep breath and sighs before he proceeds.  
“Dunno if you’ve heard but, there’s been a certain…shift in the less obvious aspects of the galaxy as of late. Malgus has been interacting with us a lot, more than he usually does. He’s been pulling and hiring a lot of support from our clans, while not always being clear about their assignments.”

“I see. Is that unusual?”

“Well, not entirely, no. We do work for the Empire, after all, but it’s the numbers and sizes he’s extracting. Plus, we work for the _imperial military_ , not Malgus himself. What he’s been doing lately is getting them for his own personal use. As you might imagine, I don’t really like that.”

Jov frowns and wanders over to one of the tables, leaning against it and places her drink on top.  
“You think he’s trying to pull some shit?”

“Maybe. It’s hard to tell at this point. I’ve never really trusted the Sith, but they are the most useful allies, to let us wage war in the way we prefer. What Malgus is doing now is…I dunno.”  
He sighs and shakes his head, raising a hand to scratch at his forehead.  
“Then again, this might just be paranoia or general suspicion against aruetii and anyone who isn’t a part of our plans.”

“True, but I wouldn’t say it’s wrong to have a little of that. I don’t trust every Sith I meet either.”

Mandalore nods, now starting to look properly distant, with the gaze he aims at the floor.  
“I can’t help but be reminded of the words Jicoln gave me, years ago, regarding the imps and working for them.  
In the past, it was said that we were once used by the Sith to fight the Republic during the Mandalorian Wars three centuries ago. Some say that we were tricked into it, but I don’t know how much truth there are in such claims. Mandalore the Preserver did choose to gather many clans under his banner and led them into an alliance with the Republic. Maybe that should be seen as evidence enough.  
Obviously, things changed, and our people developed different views on the Republic eventually. You already know that I’m certainly of that mindset. That said, I don’t want a repeat of a possible past. I won’t let my people be used as cannon fodder by power hungry fools or anyone else, and I’ll certainly stand against that kind of deception.”

Over by the table, Jov has folded her arms, now starting to understand the angle.  
“You think Malgus is trying to use us for something like that?”

“Like I said, I don’t know, but my gut is telling me that something is wrong.”

“You got any proof, or at least some kind of clue?”

Mandalore shakes his head.  
“Not more than the issue of him trying to hire the clans in big numbers.  
If I were to guess, I suspect he might be planning to use us for some kind of strike, or a larger battle, but I’m afraid he might endanger our people’s lives and sacrifice them in order to save imps. That’s not something I can endure, morally or politically.” 

There’s certainly a lot of dangerous power plays going on at this level, more than Jov feels comfortable with.  
“Huh. Well, that’s pretty shit, but I don’t see why you invited me here for it. I doubt he’s gonna let me in if you want me to end him like I ended Tormen.”

That at least brings another smile back to Mandalore, as he chuckles.  
“If you could pull that off, I’d be very impressed, my friend, but no, that’s not actually why I called you.  
The reason you’re here is twofold. Obviously, I wanted to tell you to stay out of his grasp and don’t get too involved with that man. Don’t let yourself be used by him in any way.”

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t. Already had that shit happen to me once.”

Mandalore displays a satisfied nod.  
“Secondly, I…need your help.”

Jov arches her brow again, a little bit amused.  
“Help?”

He now gets back on his feet.  
“Yeah. You see, I’ve heard certain…rumors that you might have a companion somewhere out there in the galaxy, who’s pretty good at extracting information. One who might be used to the shadows more than most.” 

Not exactly the kind of thing she would’ve expected to hear from Mandalore. Who might’ve told him that? It’s not like the person in question would tell him directly.  
“You spying on me, Mandalore?”

He raises a hand cautiously.  
“Hey, no need to be suspicious. I don’t intend to control you or anything, nor am I questioning your choices. You’re allowed to sleep with or be with whoever you want. All I’m asking for here is help from a fellow mando’ade, who might have the kind of resources I’m after.”

Once more, she’s beginning to smirk. Was it Mako who told him, maybe? If he asked very nicely, she might’ve actually thrown him a bone.  
“Uh-huh. And I’m sure you’d never want to criticize my decisions or anything.”

“Ah c’mon, Jovana. You know I wouldn’t. I support you, no matter what. Well, unless you wanna steal my seat, of course. You’re not ready for that yet.”

She still finds the whole topic kinda funny, shaking her head in slight disbelief, but she lets it continue.  
“Alright, if you really want me to do it, I’ll talk to my…friend and see what she can find. I guess if anyone can investigate this properly, it’s her.”

He wanders over to her again, puts a hand on her shoulder and smiles.  
“Thank you, I appreciate it. I’ll sleep a lot easier if we can make sure that Malgus isn’t doing anything suspicious. If he is, well…at least I know what I’m dealing with.  
If your companion wants a reward of some kind, I’m sure I can fix something.”

“Meh, she doesn’t need anything. I’ll give her a kiss and she’ll be satisfied.”

Mandalore snorts once more.  
“Somehow, I think that reward system only works on you.”

“What? Are you saying I’m easy to satisfy?”

"I’m not saying it, Mako is.”

Jov emits a quick laughter.  
“I knew it! Knew that little brat would be the one to gossip. We’ll have to have a chat about this later.” 

“Go easy on her. I think she likes me too much to keep these things secret when I ask.”  
Shortly after she has had the last of her drink, Jov is about to leave, but hears Mandalore’s voice once more.  
“Wait, there was another thing.”

She stops in the doorway and folds her arms.  
“Name it.”

“Well, this is a more…personal request, I guess, but maybe you’re interested anyway.  
Some of the clan is gonna go on a hunt tomorrow. Quite a few people are in it, like Vyrix, Neeraka and Tendarr. Originally, I was planning to decline, as I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on but…well, with my Champion here, my mind is changing. I might be interested to see what you’re actually like in the field, if you’ll attend.”

Jov watches him for a few moments, seeing how he tries to make this a casual request, but he looks somewhat awkward anyway. It’s like asking for family time, which these two have had very little of.  
“You asking me if I wanna go hunt with you, _dad?”_

He narrows his eyes, smirks and points at her.  
“Hey, I’m not that old yet, asshole.”

She laughs louder than before.  
“If you say so. Sure, I’ll come entertain ya, old man, if you wanna see what a real hunter is like.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Part of this chapter had the Malgus angle as its purpose, but I also wanted to show the friendship between Jovana and Mandalore. Which, I guess, might be drifting closer to father and adopted daughter now? I dunno._
> 
> _On Saturday, we'll go visit two Force users and probably the most "popular" couple in this fic._


	68. Tempest hearts (SW + JK)

When was the last time she saw the Shielded Path? Zal’riva can’t even remember. It feels like years by now, but months is probably more accurate. She doesn’t really care for the ship itself, as she has always been much more drawn to the crew, but it is a very welcoming sight when it sails through the darkness of space towards the Tempest this day.  
Zal was surprised when Ktila sent her a message to meet here in this empty star system, in such a direct fashion, but also somewhat worried. Has something happened? Why else would Ktila ask to see her without any of the usual precautions? Ever since the two of them acquired positions of power, there has not been any opportunity to meet openly, in the way they’d prefer. That’s why they decided going through a special communications uplink was the best and perhaps only way. 

But no, she won’t panic. That Ktila is coming to visit the Tempest at all should be a cause for celebration and that’s how she decides to view it for now.  
As their two ships dock, Zal is waiting at the airlock, together with the only other present members of her squad, Vette and Jaesa. Obviously, she couldn’t leave them behind when she was sure that both would be very happy to see their own Jedi partner. Her assumption is validated when Kira is the one who comes running through the door first, with a wide smile on her lips. She throws herself into her girlfriends’ arms, before she kisses them both, one at a time. Zal isn’t complaining, as she is happy for all three. It’s fun to see how excited they get every time. They seem to completely ignore her, but she doesn’t care, as it’s their happiness that matters.

Fortunately, she doesn’t have to wait for long until Ktila comes wandering through the same opening. The chiss is in a white tank top, burgundy red pants and black shoes. The grey shawl given to her by Zal lies comfortable around her neck and shoulders. The twi’lek could’ve guessed by Kira’s arrival that this will be a pleasant visit, but she holds onto her caution until she can see Ktila. Thankfully, the chiss smiles brightly when she enters, a sentiment which Zal mirrors soon after.

“Hello, darling. It’s been too long”, she says evenly.

“Definitely”, Ktila agrees.

“I have to say, I was very intrigued when you sent your message, although I was wondering-“

She doesn’t get any further, due to Ktila raising a hand and placing two fingers over her lips.  
“Wait”, is the only word Ktila says, before she redirects her hands to front of Zal’s coat and pulls her close. Being happy to oblige, Zal gladly leans down and shuts her eyes when the finger are replaced by Ktila’s lips, leaving them in the embrace of an eager kiss. There’s no real need to protest this, even if questions remain.

When the kiss finally ends, Zal’s hands are already resting around Ktila’s waist, but she has to admit to being a little bit overwhelmed. As her eyes flutters open, she searches the Jedi’s gaze.  
“Well…I hadn’t expected it to happen this quickly.”

Ktila snickers, her lips spreading into a slight grin.  
“I know, but I had to do this. I needed it.”

“Luckily, I am always happy to attend to all your needs", she says in a quiet, husky voice.

A glint of amusement can be seen in Ktila’s red eyes and she raises a hand to caress Zal’s jaw, gradually continuing to her chin.  
“Good, because I’m gonna ask for a lot.” 

“Perhaps we should slow down and talk a bit first? I think I’m still somewhat confused.”

“We will, but…not here.”  
Ktila looks around the area, glancing between the corridors and seems satisfied when she doesn’t spot anyone else.  
“I will explain everything, but let’s get to your cabin first of all.”

Zal turns her gaze up, looking at the entrance, but neither sees nor hears any more movement.  
“No one else coming with you?”

“Nope.”

“Who’s piloting the ship?”

“Scourge, with T7’s help.”  
Ktila lowers her other hand to poke a few fingers into Zal’s side playfully.  
“Now, are we gonna go, or will I have to carry you?”

Zal raises her eyebrow in surprise at first, before she starts to smirk.  
“So very eager, darling. I would have liked to see you try it, but I shall bow to your wishes.”

Ktila grabs her hand and winks.  
“I’m stronger than you think.”  
She pulls Zal along, which is a little bit amusing to the Sith, due to it actually her cabin. Seeing as how Ktila is more eager and cheerful than she has been in months, Zal doesn’t mind letting her take charge.  
Once they get inside the cabin, Ktila immediately tosses her shoes off, letting her feet be embraced by Zal’s comfortable carpet and takes a deep breath.  
“You don’t know how much I’ve missed the feeling and smell of this place.”

Zal chuckles and shakes her head, obviously taking her footwear off too, although in a more casual manner.  
“Have you? I don’t see why. I left 2V with Quinn and I haven’t had a chance to clean in here yet. I’m fairly certain this whole room reeks of sweat.”

She doesn’t even get the chance to face Ktila on her own terms, before the chiss has grabbed her and done it for her. The passion across the Jedi’s expression, as well as through her mind, increases substantially once more.  
“Exactly. It smells of you.”

Slowly and gently, she pushes Zal up against the nearby wall, before she pulls her down into another kiss, this one deeper and more demanding than the last. It seems Ktila wasn’t kidding when she said she missed this. It’s not like she isn’t excited every time they meet, but every occasion is different. Most of the time, there’s a rather somber undertone involved, as they know they’ll have to go their separate paths after it’s done, which somewhat diminishes the entire experience. Today, Zal isn’t getting that vibe from her companion. It’s definitely enjoyable, but her curiosity is starting to eat at her. What’s going on?

“Ktila, darling…”, she says between kisses, already feeling how the Jedi is starting to let her hands wander beneath the purple shirt Zal is wearing today.  
“I want you, you know that, but-“  
She’s prevented from ending her sentence by a pleasant gasp that leaves her lips, while Ktila playfully nibbles at her neck. “Please, we need to talk.”

Finally, Ktila manages to soothe her own desires and allow their eyes to meet once more.  
“You sure you wanna do this first?”

Zal snorts amusedly.  
“Well, unless you’re in a great hurry, in which case I’m not sure why you came.”

Ktila shakes her head.  
“I’m not. In fact, I have a lot of time on my hands right now.”

A very curious statement, which makes Zal tilt her head.  
“Why? What’s going on? I love that you’re here, but I’m confused.”

Even if she’s not all too excited to get into the serious stuff right away, Ktila takes a step back and turns around, starting to walk towards the nearby sofa. She hesitates briefly, trying to determine where she should begin.  
“Okay, if you really wanna know, you might want to sit down.  
I’ve left the Jedi Order.”

As her girlfriend probably expected, Zal widens her eyes in shock at the statement. It’s not a casual announcement, but a lot quicker than she might’ve liked.  
“You…you’ve left the Jedi Order?”, she repeats, trying to let it sink in.  
“Wha…what has happened? What would make you do that?”

Ktila closes her eyes and raises one of her hands up to rub her forehead.  
“Technically, it’s a very long story, one that I don’t know if I have the will nor the time to fully explain, but in essence, it’s about disagreements.”  
She sighs, turning to look at the Sith from a distance.  
“I’m tired, Zal. I’m tired of this war, tired of the constant fighting with the Empire, when our common enemy – the _real_ enemy and _real_ danger to this galaxy – is still out there.”

“What?”

“You know what I’m talking about. The Emperor is still alive, or at least I’m pretty sure of it. Scourge, Kira and I have all felt the stirrings, the distant and unnerving winds. I thought we killed him but, it’s pretty clear to me now that it wasn’t enough.  
When I tried to explain it all, most of the Council were skeptical and they still are.”

Zal raises her arms to cross them over her chest.  
“Well, I’m not entirely surprised. Unless you provide hard evidence, I think they’d take the most obvious truth, rather than the less comforting one. I don’t see why you left the Order for this, though.”

Ktila exhales and lowers her gaze to the floor.  
“You don’t understand, this isn’t just because they think I’m wrong. They’re actively working against me, trying to bar me from pursuing him. I am constantly sent to different battles and warzones, which prevents me from continuing my investigation. I understand their viewpoint, and I do want to protect the Republic, but I can’t do that if my only focus is the Empire and its military.”

The emotions now emanating from her are ones that are much more familiar to Zal – anxiety, frustration, doubt. She has sensed them in Ktila before, especially around the end of their meetups, when they have to leave.  
“Hmm. What made you take such drastic actions, though? Has there been any recent changes, or…?”

Ktila keeps staring at her, looking both hesitant and annoyed.  
“Yes, okay, I won’t deny that my nightmares have gotten more frequent…and more disturbing, but I know it’s more than that, Zal. If Vitiate isn’t destroyed, there will never be any safety for the galaxy. All of this could end if he is given too much time to prepare.”  
She furrows her brow and lets her eyes drift elsewhere.  
“I don’t want to be another Revan, another hero who tried so desperately to succeed and did everything she could, yet failed at the finish line. I refuse to let Vitiate win another battle or use any more people to slaughter one another. That’s what he did in the Mandalorian Wars, with Revan’s Empire and what he’s been doing with the Sith Empire and Republic’s wars. What’s to say he won’t do it again? What’s to say he doesn’t have some other pawns out there?  
Please, tell me you understand, Zal, and that you don’t just think I’m being paranoid here.” 

The section about Revan certainly interests Zal, as the two of them haven’t actually spoken much of that entity, but with Scourge being her ally, perhaps it’s not that strange.  
For now, she wants to make sure that Ktila knows they’re not on opposite sides here.  
“In fact, I don’t, as I also believe he’s alive. I encountered something that might be seen as proof on Dromund Kaas, a couple of months ago.”

Ktila widens her eyes in surprise.  
“What? You haven’t told me this. How is that possible?”

“Yes, I know I haven’t, but I wasn’t sure what to say. That encounter was very brief and I’m still uncertain if everything we saw and experienced was true.  
Jaesa was there and he left a message for me through her. ‘The Wrath cannot be stilled’ are the only words he said, before he departed. I was doubtful what conclusion I should’ve made from so little. Did he leave us behind? Did he pass on? Was it a spirit who took his shape or did we simply hallucinate the entire thing, due to our proximity to the Dark Temple?”

“He’s not dead, that’s for sure.”

Zal snorts and shrugs.  
“I know, and I didn’t believe it either, but I didn’t know what to tell you. I hate making you worry and I had no good news here, only vague nonsense. I figured it would only give you more nightmares and you have enough of those.”

While she wants to be annoyed, Ktila’s anger doesn’t linger for long. Instead, she closes the distance between them, moving one of her hands towards Zal’s, which she accepts.  
“I understand, of course, but I still would’ve liked to hear it. And hey, at least you recognize the stakes here. Better than the Jedi Council has done for me.”

Zal offers a smile and separates her arms to raise her other hand up to Ktila’s cheek.  
“I hope that’s not a surprise. You know I’d do anything for you.”

Ktila returns a similar expression and a sense of warmth is restored to her heart.  
“I know and I’m thankful. In fact, that’s partially why I came here. I wanted to ask you to join me, to go after Vitiate. Together, we’re a dangerous force, one to be reckoned with and it would open up a lot of possibilities that me and my crew alone can't reach. What do you say?”

It’s an earnest and welcoming request, one that Zal certainly wishes to embrace, and yet, she can’t. It makes her feel guilty, for realizing what she just said and now having to break it.  
“I…I don’t know what to tell you. Where is it you’re going to go looking for answers?”

It’s impossible to miss the skepticism in Zal’s voice and gaze, but Ktila tries to stay positive, hoping that she won’t be outright rejected.  
“For now, all four of us believe that targeting the Emperor’s Children is the right path. We’ve already been given a little bit of information from one of them, and we’re confident that the pieces of the puzzle can be brought together if we acquire more. It’s not a flawless plan, by any means, but it’s the best we’ve got right now.”

“And how will you fight him if you don’t have the Jedi Order on your side?”

“Yeah, I’ve asked myself the same thing several times already, and it is a complicated issue, but not impossible. I’ve dueled him before and I can do it again.  
Besides, with you and me together, the chances of success are a lot higher. What Force users can challenge the two of us if we stand united?”

Zal opens her mouth, and part of her wants to throw caution to the wind, ignoring all the doubts and tell Ktila that she’ll be with her all the way. But one particular section of her mind, the logic prodding at all the courage and excitement, tells her it cannot be done.  
“It’s…obviously an appealing prospect and if our situation looked different, I wouldn’t hesitate. But for now, unfortunately, I have to turn your offer down.”

Not a shock, as this was a scenario that Ktila had imagined, even if it was more of a fear than a simple guess. Nevertheless, she looks disappointed.  
“Why?”

“I understand that you’re disappointed to hear it, but I can’t leave the Empire, Ktila, not now."

"But-"

"I know what you might say, but listen to me first, because this isn’t solely about the war.”  
She tries to keep their shared gaze intact, but her eyes drift away, even if she lets their fingers remain interlocked.  
“Recently, I came to realize that I’ve become a symbol to a lot of people in our society, especially among a lot of the other species in the Empire. They believe in me and that things can get better with someone like me in an important position. Everything I’ve built will be lost if I leave that behind.  
I am not just a strong Sith, but one with power and control over others. You know I have a better vision for the Empire and I can use my station for this purpose.”

Ktila sighs.  
“I see."

“But it’s about more than them as well. If I depart now, I will lose my connection to the Emperor’s Hand, the Dark Council and the imperial military. At this time, I am able to partially control many of those institutions, to make them shift in the right direction. If I stop caring about them all, I’ll be seen as a traitor. They’ll either ignore me and refuse to help out, or hunt after me.  
Either way, I am currently in a better position to help you, than if the two of us ran around researching the Emperor together. I can feed you information that could be critical in your own investigation and shift blame if anyone becomes suspicious. On top of that, if you find something crucial that you need to hit, then I will be there by your side, possibly with imperial support.”

Some of the disappointment on Ktila’s features have diminished, even if she’s not exactly excited either.  
“I…see your point and you’re probably right. Perhaps it was a bit too drastic to come running here without a plan anyhow.”

Zal offers her another gentle smile, squeezing Ktila’s hand while she caresses the Jedi’s cheek and chin.  
“I’m not going to blame you. It was a reasonable request and had our roles been reversed, I would’ve done the same. I want to be by your side more than anything, but I know it’s not the right decision. Not right now.  
That said, with you not being in the Jedi anymore, we’ll definitely have more opportunities to be together. We won’t have to sneak around as much.”

There may be a somewhat gloomy note in the background, but when Ktila considers this aspect, she can’t help but smile, coming closer once more.  
“You’re right and I’d like to take that chance. I wanna be with you as much as I possibly can. You may have to get ready for that I’ll drag you out of certain battles, though.”

Zal chuckles.  
“I don’t mind. In fact, I might even be able to say I have an excuse to leave. If nothing else, Val and Cierah are still out there and they’re ready to help protect us, if necessary.”

As they seem to be done discussing the future, Ktila doesn’t just shrink the distance between them, but actively leans against her beloved. She raises her arm, running a few fingers down Zal’s chest.  
“Well, like I said earlier, I’m too tired to talk of war right now. It’s time that we sit back and relax.”

Familiar emotions are now returning to them both and Zal feels her own lekkus twitching with excitement.  
“You’re probably right, and I’d very much like to. Unfortunately, there’s still a few people waiting for me. I put certain calls on hold during the time it took us to fly here and let them know I’d get back to them when the situation was calmer. I may need to explain that they will have to wait another day or two.”

Ktila arches her brow skeptically, seeing how Zal takes a couple of steps back, getting ready to move over to the comm unit that she has placed on the desk a few meters away. Ktila feels like it’s probably advantageous to let Zal deal with her business first, but…  
No, she’s not going to let anything else get in between them. Not today.  
Before Zal can even reach her desk, the device suddenly floats up into the air and flies across the room, landing in Ktila’s hand. The chiss deactivates it, opens up one of its slots at the bottom and takes out the energy cell. Shortly after, she tosses them both into different corners, ones that Zal can’t reach from over there.

“They can wait. I need you now.”

Zal initially opens her mouth in surprise, but can’t stop herself from smiling once more. This side of Ktila is certainly amusing.  
“Too much work, you think?”

“Definitely. You should find something else to focus on.”  
Ktila gently removes the shawl from her neck, placing it on a table nearby, and then lowers her hands, pulls at her own tank top and throws it off. When it’s gone, she moves a hand to her bra, unhooks it and lets it drop to the ground. With her toned half-naked body on display, she pushes her hands to her hips.  
“Now get over here.”

Zal’s eyes are obviously drawn to that region and she’s unable to prevent her desire from swiftly growing more intense. Her legs almost seem to move on their own and she ends up in Ktila’s arms once more, her lips instinctively searching for her lover’s. While Ktila works on Zal’s clothes, trying to get them off as efficiently as possible, the twi’leks hands pulls at the hairband holding Ktila’s ponytail up. She frees the hair from the grasp and lets her hands run through it.

“Well…I can see that the Jedi’s influence on you has already evaporated.”

“Wrong.”  
Ktila grabs her by the waist and then shifts their positions. Getting into the right angle, she pushes Zal backwards, letting the Sith end up on the sofa. This gives Ktila the best opportunity to move on top of her, straddling the Sith and wrapping her arms around Zal’s neck.  
“This has been me all along. They’ve just never been able to suppress it.”

She captures Zal’s lips, as the twi’lek leaves her hands at Ktila’s back, caressing all the way down to her hips, where she squeezes.  
As Ktila’s kisses start to roam over Zal’s body, the two of them decide to forget the rest of the galaxy for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Look, I don't wanna hear it. You know I don't do smut. YOU KNOW OR YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE_   
>  _And yeah, Ktila and Zal won't go on a hunt for the Emperor together...yet. Who knows? Maybe things will change in the galaxy later on (it will). For now, they'll still be able to meet each other more than they did before. We'll see more of this in the next fic._
> 
> _Next week, I'm gonna write that request I got a while back with Lenorr and Iron (Bery will be there too, of course)._
> 
> _I am also very happy to announce that there's now a piece of artwork for Ktila and Zal, drawn by the lovely[@xbrittanyraex](http://xbrittanyraex.tumblr.com/post/166162989866/a-commission-for-talonticus-of-their-sith-zal). I commissioned her and I love it!_   
>  _For the purposes of the fic, I should probably mention that Zal's coat is brown in the artwork and not grey like in the story, but that was just something I forgot to tell her and didn't show properly in the reference pictures. My fault and it's still a great piece!_


	69. Energetic connectivity (JC + Sm)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This thing is too long and it's all a particular person's fault. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE_   
>  _Anyway, I got a suggestion like, a couple of weeks back about doing this kind of thing. I decided to write it this week and yeah, here we are. Let's do it, I guess._

“I know you don’t care, but I’d just like everyone to know that this is stupid.”

As Risha says it, the other two people close to her in the cargo bay – Bery and Guss – both look in her direction, neither of them showing emotions that they’d agree. In fact, the Captain seems fairly distracted by the red-skinned woman in the distance, currently standing in some training gear while she stretches.  
“Nah, I don’t think so”, she says with a smirk on her lips as she eagerly eyes the Sith’s form. “I think it’s kinda funny, actually.”

Risha shuts her eyes and sighs.  
“How is it funny, though? Do you like the idea of Lenorr getting herself beaten up for no reason? I kinda prefer if my friends stay intact, but maybe that’s just me, huh?”

Her statement makes Bery turn and grin at her knowingly, as if she’s waiting for something. Just like she anticipated, it arrives a few seconds later from the Sith herself.  
“No such thing will happen, Risha, because I will not lose. I will show the Jedi how it’s done and that will be the end of it.”

As Risha opens her eyes, she rolls them almost immediately. Of course, Lenorr would say that.  
“Don’t you often talk about overconfidence? Maybe you should look yourself in the mirror every once in a while.  
_I_ think this is dumb, but fine, if that’s what you want to do, then don’t let me stop you. Just go ahead and humiliate yourself.” 

Bery chuckles.  
“Well, good to know who you’ll be rooting for, Drayen.”

“Ugh. I’m not ‘rooting for’ anyone. I just don’t want them to do it. Maybe the Jedi will have more sense…”

Even if he hasn’t said much so far, Guss decides to slip into the conversation as well.  
“Not sure if it really matters, but I think this is kinda exciting. I haven’t gotten to see much of actual lightsaber combat up close. This will be my first real chance to learn.”

“Don’t think they’ll use proper lightsabers, though, Guss. That’s deadly”, Bery explains.

Risha shifts her eyes in the Captain’s direction.  
“Oh, so that’s where you draw the line, huh?”

“Yeah, I prefer my girlfriend’s limbs to stay on her body.”

At the same time, Lenorr looks dissatisfied with her as well.  
“I see you all have about the same assumption of my chances, then.”

“Hey, just being reasonable, babe!”

Before the conversation can get any further, the door to the room slides open and three people walk inside. The one at the front is the very familiar figure of Jedi Master Iron’zeranz, who they’ve stayed in contact with since their last encounter. That meeting didn’t start like they expected, but the end was fairly pleasant.  
“Ah, and here you all are. Greetings. I hope I’m not disturbing.”

Bery smiles and waves at her.  
“Not at all! Wouldn’t have left the hatch to my ship open if you were. C’mon in, master Jedi.”  
As Iron approaches, Bery gestures at the rest.  
“You probably remember Lenorr and Risha, but this here is Languss Tuno, or Guss. He’s got a bit of medical knowhow and business skills, which is why he works with me.”

Guss stands up and bows, even if it looks a little bit awkward.  
“It’s…it’s an honor to meet you, master Iron. There’s a lot of really interesting rumors about you all around the galaxy.”

Iron lifts her arms to fold them.  
“I am sure there are, but the truth is unlikely to be the same.”

The others might want to say something, but Bery interjects before they can.  
“I recognize Nadia, but who’s this guy you’ve got with you?”

Iron shifts her position a little bit to gesture at the dark brown-skinned human with short black hair at her side.  
“This is Lieutenant Felix Iresso of the Republic military. He has been an ally of mine for the last year or so. He is my friend and I trust him. For the most part, he accompanied me to this location out of interest.”

Felix offers a smile for the group and a curt nod.  
“Hello everyone. Glad to finally meet your group, as master zeranz have told us so much about you.”

There’s a little bit of silence from the team at first, before Bery decides to break it.  
“Army guy, huh? Hadn’t expected we’d get that kind of company. Hope you’re not looking for anything in particular.”

Fortunately, Felix doesn’t look worried and just laughs it off.  
“Not at all. In fact, I should probably be straight about what I’m doing here. I came because I wanted to ensure Iron’s safety. I’m certain she can look out for herself, of course, but it doesn’t hurt to have a bit of backup, right?”

Iron nods to show her approval.  
“And I do not mind, as Felix is very sharp.”

Regardless of their assurances, Bery looks quite amused. She wonders if they’d do the same had they not been entering the ship of a famous smuggler.  
“Ah, you shouldn’t have to worry, Lieutenant. We’re not gonna bite your precious Jedi. Well…not all too much, anyway.” 

It seems Felix can take and meet that kind of humor as well, as he smirks right back.  
“I’m sure you’re not, Captain, but I’ll keep my muzzle close, just in case.”  
Bery laughs in response.

Iron then clears her throat to return the attention to her.  
“Now then, I will say that I was fairly surprised by your call, Captain Shodem, but it was a refreshing thought, to know that you have not forgotten our alliance. What was it that you wished to talk about?”

More amusement shimmers through Bery’s eyes and she shakes her head.  
“Oh, I didn’t have anything to say, actually. The one you’re looking for is Lenorr”, she says and indicates her girlfriend, who’s actually closer to the Jedi than the rest of the group.  
“She had something special in mind.”

Iron redirects her face towards the Sith.  
“Miss Evintok, correct?”

“That’s right”, Lenorr replies evenly and folds her arms.  
“I was curious if the two of us could try something specific. I’d like to know if you’re interested in…let’s call it a sparring session.”

Iron tilts her head inquisitively.  
“Sparring?”

“Yes. Last time we encountered one another, I will admit that it was a fairly…unsatisfying end, from my perspective.  
I understand that we’re allies now, and I certainly don’t mind, but I’ve always enjoyed the thrill of combat. You are the Barsen’thor, are you not? Getting the chance to measure myself against someone of your caliber would be quite an opportunity, one I cannot pass up.”

Both Nadia and Felix seem surprised by this request, with the former being somewhat unsure, while the latter finds it a little bit entertaining.  
“Heh. Quite uh, interesting allies you’ve got here, zeranz”, he comments. 

“And a little rude”, Nadia adds. “I’m not sure it’s okay to just challenge your associates to a fight like this.”

In the meantime, Iron watches the Sith curiously, running a hand up to her own chin to stroke it in thought, possibly considering the benefits and disadvantages.  
“Hmm, it is a fairly intriguing request. What did you have in mind? Fighting to the death would be foolish and unnecessary.”

Nadia now widens her eyes towards Iron instead.  
“…master?”

Lenorr inclines her head.  
“You’ll get no argument from me, which is why we will be using training sabers. No armors or other combat accessories are allowed either. Just you, me, our weapons and minds.  
As we will have the rest of our two groups watching the proceedings, everything should be safe, as they can make sure we do nothing wrong.”

The miraluka doesn’t seem to need much time to contemplate the idea as she nods in return.  
“Very well, I accept your challenge, miss Evintok.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on”, Felix says, while raising his hand. “You’re just gonna accept without inspecting this area first? They might’ve put down some traps, you know.”

It seems his caution is shared by Nadia.  
“I agree. While they acted like reasonable people last time, you can never be too sure.”

Lenorr arches one of her brow ridges.  
“Such overly suspicious companions you have. I wonder if it will even matter that I mention how I would not resort to such trickery.”

“Hope you don’t mind if I don’t take your word for it, Sith”, the Lieutenant says, without raising his voice too much. “Your people don’t exactly have the best track record.”

She merely snorts at him, but Iron raises her hand to prevent any further arguments.  
“Stop. Felix, Nadia, your concerns are valid, and I take them into consideration when I make this decision, but I see no reason to fear either of these people. Captain Shodem and her crew has shown to be nothing but cooperative thus far, and there are no indications that this will change anytime soon. Besides, I enjoy a friendly challenge, when offered one.”

It may make Lenorr rather pleased, but Felix still appears to be skeptical.  
“Alright, if you say so. Nadia and I will be nearby if you need us, though.”

“I know. Thank you.”  
She shifts the location of one hand to her belt, grabbing her lightsaber and gives it to Nadia.  
“Please guard this while you wait.”

Nadia takes it and slips it into her own robes.  
“Yes, master. I promise I’ll keep it safe.”

In the distance, they can see how Bery lifts a hand and curls a finger in a gesture for the two to come over. Around the same time, Iron lifts off her coat and tosses it onto some tables by a nearby wall.  
Felix and Nadia take their seats at either side of the Captain, which makes the Lieutenant end up closest to Risha.  
“You should relax while you’re here, Lieutenant. We do take care of our guests, you know, despite our reputation”, Drayen comments.

He looks a little bit amused and shrugs.  
“I am relaxed.”

“Sure you are.”

On Bery’s other side, Guss turn towards Nadia, who he stands closest to.  
“Ah, hello there! You’re padawan Grell, right?”

Nadia blinks as she gazes at the mon calamari and nods to confirm it.  
“That’s right. What about it?”

“Well, it’s good to meet you! I’m not a padawan but, I also study the Force.”

The sarkhai tilts her head while a glint of interest appears in her eyes.  
“You do? Who’re you training with?”

Guss raises his hand to point at the Sith.  
“Oh, uh, with Lenorr.”

That, unfortunately, makes Nadia a lot more skeptical.  
“You’re…the apprentice of that Sith?”

“Well, no, not an apprentice, exactly. She isn’t really trying to make me into a Sith, only helping me improve my abilities and understand more about the Force. I’ve always had the sensitivity but…not the skill. Never thought I’d do much with it, but Lenorr has proven me wrong. Well...mostly, anyway. It’s going pretty slow.”

As the two of them chat, Lenorr and Iron have now ended up in front of each other. They both wear nothing else than tank tops on their upper bodies, but while Lenorr has tight exercising pants, Iron wears the lower skirt of a robe, almost reaching down to her feet. She hasn’t shown interest in changing this.  
In terms of body proportions, Iron has a mildly toned build, but nothing even close to the very visible muscles on Lenorr.  
“Any specific rules you would wish to explain before we start?”, the miraluka asks.

Lenorr raises a hand in the direction of a bench several meters away, where she utilizes the Force to make a training saber float into her grasp.  
“Nothing special, no. The only rules pertain to the equipment, which I’ve already mentioned, and that we will not go for any lethal blows. That’s why we spar.”  
As the dual-bladed weapon lands in her hand, she spins it around, trying to make sure that she is fully prepared and that it feels confident in her grip.  
“Use your Force gifts, if you wish. I am not afraid to face them, nor anything else you can dish out.”

Iron briefly nods and telekinetically moves her own weapon into her hands, the same type as Lenorr, but she sees no need to show off.  
“If you say so. I will try to go easy on you at first.”

As soon as she hears this, Lenorr frowns, clenches her weapon and advances on the miraluka. She’s not unimaginably swift, but faster than one might believe. She raises her weapon in an overhead strike, which forces Iron to lift her own in order to parry it. Due to the electric nature of the blunt tools – so that they can deliver mild shocks on hits – flashes of light can be seen in the middle of the room and clashing noises are heard. 

Lenorr pushes herself close enough for them to stare at each other, almost touching. She glares into the headband covering the eye region of Iron’s face.  
“Don’t ever go easy on me. If you do, you’ll soon find yourself on the floor, wondering why you underestimated me.”

Shortly after, she enhances her strength a little bit with the Force and pushes hard against Iron’s weapon, making the miraluka get knocked backwards several meters as she slides against the floor. By this time, the rest of the hangar has gone silent, realizing that it may not be as friendly as they were initially told.  
Iron’s expression doesn’t change much despite where she ends up and she remains standing.  
“Very well. I shall adjust my expectations accordingly.”

The rest of the group watches how Lenorr spins her weapon around in her hands once more, while she circles her opponent. Iron remains where she is, waiting. She seems determined to let the Sith act first and then respond depending on her actions.  
Lenorr doesn’t appear to mind the role of a predator attacking its prey, and in order to test out Iron’s abilities, she goes for an ambush from the back, trying to strike at the lower end. Fortunately, Iron doesn’t actually need to be facing her direction to see what’s going to happen, and her reflexes are definitely on par with the Sith. She parries the blade without any issue, spins around and then blocks two more high strikes. 

What does surprise her, however, is when Lenorr raises her leg while Iron is defending from the saber and kicks her in the abdomen. It has enough applied strength that Iron just barely manages to remain standing as she stumbles backwards.  
Iron raises her hand to clutch at this section, as Lenorr hasn’t launched another attack.  
“I thought you said we should only use our weapons.”

Lenorr’s lip curls up in amusement.  
“Actually, I believe my exact words were ‘you, me, our weapons and minds’. Bodies are very much included in that equation, are they not?”

Seemingly having recuperated from the strike, Iron stands up to stretch her back and roll her shoulders.  
“Very well. Excuse me for misinterpreting your words.”

“No need. I like it when I manage to take my opponents off-guard, but I do want you to feel I earned it when I win this fight fair and square.”

Iron mimics a move that Lenorr has been using and spins her weapon around twice, before she holds it up in a firm stance.  
“You might be too confident.”

Lenorr smirks, holds the weapon in one hand and then advances once more. The two of them soon fall into a flurry of different attacks, with the Sith performing most of the offensive strikes. Not only is Lenorr strong and powerful, she is also accurate when it comes down to choosing where to slash. Her movements may not be as fluid as Iron’s, but she doesn’t need to be, as she relies on such impressively applied strength that Iron is forced into a lot of defensive maneuvers. In some ways, it almost reminds her of the time she met with the Emperor’s Wrath. They may not have had much time for it, but they did watch each other battle from afar for a short while. Lenorr may not be as brutal in her assaults, but it’s not something the Jedi can easily dismiss either.

In order to counter it, Iron attempts to find paths around this offensive, rather than face it head on. She dodges, evades, parries and deflects the damage, before trying to slip past Lenorr’s defenses to strike at her leg, hands or arms. Unfortunately, most of this merely seems to annoy the Sith, rather than have any overly debilitating effects. Sure, irritating her can have its own positive aspects, in order to distract her, but it doesn’t seem to work very well right now. 

At a certain section of the fight, Lenorr is launching several heavy strikes on her opponent; she utilizes her strength to slash at Iron from overhead, then immediately switches location to attempt to deliver an attack on the left side, before she spins her weapon around and prepares a wide swing, as if she is utilizing a pipe to smash something as hard as possible. These aren’t mere practice hits, something used in normal sparring. Well, perhaps they are for the Sith, but Iron believes its more than that. Lenorr is trying to do all she can to wear the miraluka down, test her defenses and see how long she can last. Iron can survive this type of onslaught for a time, but if she aims to win, it won’t do her any good to get trapped. Perhaps it’s time to become serious.

When Lenorr launches yet another series of attempts to weaken her opponent, Iron takes the opportunity in between them to raise her hand and summons the Force. The Sith widen her eyes as she feels how an invisible entity pushes her backwards much harder than before. Lenorr has been performing some pretty acrobatic moves thus far and can easily flip around in the air to land back on her feet. As she shows her face afterwards, there’s now a visible grin.  
“And here we go. I see I’ve reached your first limit.”

Iron shifts her stance, holding her weapon behind her and the hand outwards, palm in the direction of Lenorr.  
“My limits go further than you expect, but I acknowledge the fact that you are an opponent which I cannot underestimate. Know this before we continue.”

“Oh, I do not mind at all. Let’s start this fight for real.”

With an added battle shout, Lenorr shoots up into the air, charges through it and her next attack practically comes from the sky. Iron tries to prepare herself, but as it lands, it doesn’t really matter if this is a lightsaber or not as the impact is still heavy enough to make her body vibrate. Yeah, trying to block the most devastating strikes is certainly not advisable anymore. She needs to be careful.  
The acrobatics from Lenorr continues after this, as she jumps around, trying to get above Iron to slip behind or to spin in such a way that might give her less of an idea where the next slash will arrive from. For the most part, Iron stays firmly by the idea she confirmed previously, that she will not underestimate Lenorr, but that means she has to alter her tactics. The blocking and parrying are then quickly replaced with dodges and planned evasions. 

Iron would be lying if she said that she has no interest in endangering herself to beat Lenorr. In fact, she considers the prospect of beating the Sith without applying further usage of the Force to be quite a proud moment, but it becomes clear that cannot be done. Lenorr utilizes the Force too, albeit in a more physical manner. Iron has to fight fire with fire.  
When she makes the Sith miss another attack, Iron takes the opportunity to gather as much of her energy as she can possibly attain at a brief moment and shoves Lenorr backwards. However, before she can slide too far, Iron alters the pressure of the move and lets it appear from above, pushing Lenorr hard to the ground. It’s so sudden that the Sith doesn’t have time to react or defend herself in any way. Her body plummets to the floor, emitting a loud groan at the same time.

Iron gets back into her defensive stance as she waits, and the rest of the team seem a little bit nervous. Several seconds passes by and people are now wondering if Lenorr will actually get back up at all.  
They eventually get their answer when a glowing red aura appears around her and puts her hands to the ground, clenching her fingers and forcing herself to rise. She’s panting when she gets back on her feet, which is, of course, a sign of exhaustion, but due to the energy she’s radiating with, Iron knows that’s just a front. She seems to practically get stronger the more excited she is by the battle. This is an expected result, as it displays the true measure of the Sith she is. 

“It seems you may have underestimated me somewhat as well”, Iron tells her.

“No”, Lenorr responds and plants her feet hard on the ground. “You’re simply pushing my limits now. Unfortunately, you will come to regret that.”

Something which a few may not fully notice is how there’s more to the situation than what she’s claiming. Before she gets into combat again, she gives Bery a quick glance, which is what she has subtlety done several times by now.  
The Captain herself has certainly noticed this and the idea only amuses her. Is she trying to impress her girlfriend? Perhaps wishing to let the twi’lek know that she is able to protect her against anything? Either way, Bery won’t give away too much of her reaction, which is why she’s seemingly not disappointed by Lenorr either winning or losing.

A difficult aspect to this scenario is the fact that Iron is not her typical foe. When she gets more serious, it becomes more dangerous.  
Lenorr initiates this last stage of the fight by charging into Iron once more and compared to before, each of her attacks now echo through the area with worrying velocity. Several of them also make her emit grunts, as she draws more and more from her raw strength. 

Iron tries to weaken some of this by utilizing some suppression techniques. She directs the Force into her hand, or specifically the tip of her fingers and when she finds the right opportunity, she pushes them into gaps on Lenorr’s body. Her intention is to poke small holes into the Sith’s intimidating façade and eventually drain enough of her strength that she cannot keep such reckless tactics going for long. While it may be an interesting countermeasure, it’s the type of ability which is as difficult to employ as it is to avert. 

Lenorr eventually sees what’s going on and starts to deflect a few of them, before fully counterattacking, hoping to launch a barrage that can manage to overwhelm Iron way ahead of Lenorr’s own inevitable exhaustion catching up with her.  
It works, to a certain degree. Iron has been forced to return to defensive manners, hoping to avoid a knockout punch before it arrives. She doesn’t quite know where Lenorr gets all of the power she’s placing into every assault, but it’s enough to impress, possibly to the extent that the Jedi will have to treat her like a real enemy.

At a stage where Lenorr is feeling how her legs is starting to vibrate, showing small signs of fatigue, she’s once more hammering into the mental barrier Iron has built up around her, hoping that she can shatter it once and for all. She can feel that it’s getting close, almost able to taste it and despite being so tired, she won’t let herself fall. Not first, anyway.  
As a hole in Iron’s defenses appear, Lenorr loads all she has into this one small opening and tries to go for it. However, instead of the expected impact, what it hits instead is a piece of metal which blocks it off. And it’s not just any metal either, but one that is suspended in the air, most likely by the Force.

Lenorr widen her eyes, realizing that if she thought Iron was serious previously, that was probably a mistake. Before she can even react properly, Iron has shifted it around, making the metal go flying straight into her chest and she groans as she’s knocked away.  
As Iron raises her hand to prepare her next offense, it’s at least clear that Lenorr has done her job, due to the fact that Iron is breathing pretty heavily. Unfortunately, it’s likely not enough. 

“I believe that’s another type of weapon!”, Lenorr says as she stands up, her legs being somewhat wobbly. 

“You did not give any specific number on how many weapons we were allowed to use. If you wish to feel the full might of my abilities, then brace yourself.”

Several items from all over the room floats up into the air, spins around and shoots in Lenorr’s direction. The Sith has to react quickly as to not get hit and her weapon moves with incredible accuracy, showing that her reflexes are at least trained enough as to not easily be ambushed.  
During this time, Iron herself prepares another ability, gathering energy in order to activate it. When she’s done flinging random objects in Lenorr’s path, she puts her foot down into a slightly angled position and then bends herself down a little. 

Lenorr turns just in time to see how Iron shoots forward almost at the speed of a blaster shot, rushing into battle with the kind of ferocity she’d expect from a Sith. For the very first time during the duel, it’s Lenorr who has to defend herself, desperately hoping to knock away each of Iron’s flurry of stabs and slashes. Not only does she mirror the acrobatic talents that everyone saw previously, but she is so fast that it practically looks like a leaf dancing around a rock. 

Panic sets itself into Lenorr’s chest, not out of a fear of death, but of defeat. She knows she can’t keep this going for long, not if she expects to beat Iron. She resists an impressive number of blows, but Iron always has more from a corner that Lenorr couldn’t have predicted. Even when she tries to knock the miraluka back, Iron merely rolls around, rises and closes the distance, before the Sith can adequately shift into some other type of move. 

The fight doesn’t even end in a way that Lenorr would’ve preferred. In her mind, she had hoped to at least knock Iron over with overwhelming strength or, if she had to lose, at best be buried underneath a mountain of items that Iron have to use to take her out. But that’s not how it ends.  
Instead, when Lenorr least expects it, Iron ducks beneath one of the Sith’s blows and while she initially merely tries to dodge, she seizes the opportunity to hit the lower end of her opponent’s legs as well. The impact is so fierce that Lenorr loses her footing and falls to the ground. 

While the fall is joined by both a thud and a groan, most of this is not just out of pain, but exhaustion. She realizes that this might’ve been her final move, the last bit of damage she can take. Her mind wants to dismiss the notion, get back up and fight, but luck is not on her side.  
Iron properly tries to shut the match down here, by not just holding her down, but actively sitting on top of the Sith, practically straddling her, while leaving the training saber at her neck.

As both women face one another, they’re panting, chests heaving with fatigue. This is truly it.  
“I suggest you surrender, miss Evintok. I doubt you can fight for much longer.”

Preposterous! That’s what Lenorr’s mind tells her. She should push this Jedi off and show her exactly how tough she is and that no one is able to humiliate her in this fashion. She will win, no matter how many more hits she has to take.  
But as she raises her arm to make the attempt, she realizes that it’s shaking quite fiercely and summoning any more strength at this time is not something she can adequately do, unless she wishes to damage herself both physically and mentally. That would probably be very stupid, at least for a small sparring session like this.

“You’re…you’re right. I surrender.” 

Iron breathes out in what Lenorr assumes is relief, lowers her weapons and then puts a hand to the ground in order to push herself to her feet. Feeling no need to be superior, she offers her hand to the Sith, to help her up.  
“It was a good match. You are an impressive warrior.”

At first, she hesitates, not really wanting any kind of charity at all, but that would be a silly notion at this point. Iron has showed her nothing but respect and perhaps it’s best to return the favor.  
She grabs the hand and allows herself to be aided.  
“Thank you, and I agree. It was very entertaining…and educational. I admit that you are the superior fighter”, she says with an added bow.

In another section of the room, applause erupt among the small number of people in the audience. The others may remain by their seats, but Bery comes up towards them and starts by shaking Iron’s hand.  
“That was quite a thing to watch. Thanks for the show.”

Iron briefly inclines her head.  
“I am…pleased you enjoyed it.”

Bery then redirects her attention to Lenorr and even though she really tries not to, she still ends up smirking.  
“Well well, what an interesting conclusion, huh? Is this ‘how it’s done’, then?”

Lenorr clears her throat awkwardly, looking away with pretty blatant embarrassment on her face.  
“…fine, you were right. I underestimated her. You can gloat all you want now, I suppose.”

Bery’s lips spread into her grin, but she doesn’t seem to have any such plans. Instead, she grabs Lenorr’s shirt and pulls her down. Even if the Sith doesn’t have the strength for it right now, she wouldn’t oppose the eager kiss she ends up in. She shuts her eyes and does her best to return the motion, placing a hand on the twi’lek’s hip.  
Once she’s satisfied, Bery leans back just a little bit and whispers.  
“Don’t worry, babe, I like to see your humble side too. You were really cool out there and it was pretty damn exciting. You get even fiercer than I expected.”

Despite the loss, Lenorr still ends up showing a small smile.  
“I…did my best. And it was fun.”

“I know. Now, how about you and I have some more fun, and continue this conversation in the shower?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Just a little bit of friendly sparring, right? FRIENDLY_   
>  _I realize I haven't had Felix in Iron's chapters as much as I should. She's quite good friends with both him and Qyzen, but I tend to focus on her master-apprentice relationship with Nadia more. I might have to rectify that at some point._
> 
> _Anyway, on Saturday, we're going back to Cierah._


	70. Awakened gash (IA)

The weeks of silence was definitely something that had been on Cierah’s mind, even if it wasn’t on the absolute forefront at all times. She knew that the old Minister would get back to her at some point, but for the most part, she merely wondered when that would be. Even if he couldn’t tell her everything, she wanted something, anything really. A small glimpse of that progress was being made, or a word that could tell her if her friend was still alive. But instead, there was nothing. Patience, that’s what she tried to tell herself. Patience is what she needed. If only everything wasn’t falling apart around her.

When word finally arrived, she didn’t even hesitate for a moment and instead headed to the new hideout of the duo, on a small cargo ship, letting the Rogue Warden dock with it.  
The Minister stood ready to greet her, of course, in some rather casual clothes. He wasn’t entirely certain if he could agree to what had been asked of him, but with a little bit of persuasion, he eventually allowed Cierah to enter the room without oversight. He is protective of this person and she respects that, but it’s someone that Cierah finds important as well. Except for her family and Jovana, there are only two people who deserve those kinds of emotions from her. 

As she steps closer to the room, she can hear noises within, from someone arguing with what is obviously a droid.  
“I don’t care, alright? I have made my decision.”

“But, as your assigned medical professional, I must insist that you require further rest, not disruptions”, the droid tells the woman.

The patient sighs, now starting to get even more annoyed.  
“Well, you know what? _You_ are the one who is disrupting me at this very moment and I find it quite frustrating. If you don’t stop, I will make you leave this area in pieces.”

Obviously, it is not particularly scared by the threat and probably not only due to not having that kind of programming.  
“Miss Jenn, your behavior at this time is an expected effect, as a result of stress, anxiety or otherwise elevated emotional pressure. I urge you to remain calm and deny any-“

Not being satisfied with its conclusion, she groans and interrupts it.  
“Please, just leave me alone, will you? I don’t have the stamina to continue arguing with your nonsense.”

Before the droid can respond, they both hear a voice coming from the doorway, of someone who had been surprisingly silent during her entry.  
“I believe you should listen to the lady. She is a lot fiercer than she looks.”

That voice immediately makes the other woman’s expression brighten and she smiles as Cierah walks inside with an amused look on her face.  
“Cipher!”

The droid, a medical model usually utilized by the Empire, turns around and faces its long cylinder-esque head towards her, letting her see the two red lights displayed in that region.  
“Ah, I heard that we would receive guests, despite my recommendation against such measures.  
Let me repeat them to you now – miss Jenn is still not in any condition to exert herself, neither physically nor mentally. Her state, while not critical, requires constant supervision and aid at a moment’s notice.”

Cierah is about to respond, probably to reassure it, but the woman in question gets there before her.  
“Listen to me, _droid_. I will not tolerate any more of your meddling. Do you understand?  
I have rested for too long already, and I will not be prevented from speaking to someone I care about! If you continue this line of thought, I _will_ get serious and you do not wish to experience that. You should leave, _now_.”

By the tone of her voice and the slight frown on her face, she’s definitely serious. The droid is even stunned into silence, giving Cierah the opportunity to clear her throat and address it.  
“She does seem adamant about this, so I suggest you don’t anger her any further. However, you shouldn’t be worried. I will be here to take care of her, if necessary.”

As the droid does seem to have some preservation circuits, it decides to utilize them now.  
“…as you wish. I shall return later.”

Shortly after, it turns back around and pretty much flees. Once the door has closed behind it, the duo is mostly left alone. Cierah doesn’t smile often, but she does offer one of those few rare displays for her companion.  
“Shara Jenn. Or do you prefer if I stick to Keeper, or Watcher Two even? I don’t know which one you want to hear me say.”

Shara returns a similar expression, seeming very satisfied as she raises her hand towards Cierah.  
“Call me whatever you like. I’m just delighted to have you here.”  
Cierah gladly takes the extended hand and leans in close. The two of them hug tightly, and the agent can’t help but notice how Shara is shaking a little bit, most likely out of excitement. She decides to run a hand through her old superior’s hair in return.  
“I’ve missed you.”

“And I can assure you, it’s mutual.”

Once they lean back a little bit, in order to better look at each other, Shara strokes a few fingers along Cierah’s cheek.  
“You don’t know how happy I am that you’re still alive.”

Cierah chuckles very briefly, practically doing nothing more emitting a bit of air, but it’s more than what almost anyone else ever gets.  
“My enemies haven’t succeeded yet, but it’s not for lack of trying.” 

There are many scars and haunting memories that they can both speak of and probably would want to at some point. Who else would understand either’s plight on the same level? The past few years are ones where they’ve also had to suffer the same type of hardships, to the extent that they were, and still are, interlocked. To what level is hard to say.  
Shara was actually going to keep asking about this when something happens. A little feathery creature steps out from behind Cierah’s head, where he had been hiding.

The old Keeper blinks and tilts her head curiously.  
“Wh-what? Who’s this?”

Cierah smiles and feels how her owl friend climbs back on her shoulder, after the Cipher had asked him to hide his presence at first. It seems he had enough of that now.  
“You haven’t had the chance to meet him yet, I guess, so I wanted to let you do so now. This is a new…erm, friend, I suppose. It’s my owl pet.”

Shara arches her brow questioningly at first, and then folds her arms with a slightly amused look on her face.  
“Owl pet? Since when did you want that?”

“Well, since never, I guess, but I was…persuaded, let’s say.”

That makes Shara giggle.  
“So, Kaliyo made you buy one, huh?”

Cierah clears her throat.  
“Excuse me? She can’t _make_ me do anything. She merely made me realize that I was getting too stressed out by the chaos of life and…helped me choose something else to put my focus on. I agreed.”

“Uh-huh. He does seem tame, I will admit.”

The owl himself merely sits there, tilting his head back and forth while his large eyes shift between Shara and Cierah. For now, he seems calm, although his owner knows that can change very swiftly.  
“He is, and I will admit that we have grown rather close. He’s intelligent, following my commands almost before I make them. Sometimes, I wonder if he’s too smart.”

Shara smirks.  
“Is that so? Then I will agree it is a fitting pet for someone like you.”

“Tsk. Why did I know you’d say that?”  
She shakes her head.  
“Regardless, he’s pleasant to have around. We get along.”

Shortly after she says this, almost like he overheard it, the owl leans his beak towards her cheek. It makes Shara smile.  
“He does look very sweet. What’s his name?”

Cierah turns her eye towards Shara and looks a little bit awkward.  
“Well, erm…I had to choose something I felt was adequate, as my companion, someone I would have with me for a long time. I finally came up with ‘Cipher’s Menace’.”

It’s silent for a moment, when Shara widens her eyes, but that soon ends with her laughing.  
“Really? That’s what you felt was the best name for your bird? You’re sure I didn’t inadvertently help you pick the name?”

Cierah rolls her eye, but smiles at the same time.  
“I suppose I did have two people in mind when I chose it and you were definitely one of them.”

“Glad to hear it. Despite being a menace, he seems very friendly, though. You think I could…pet him?”

That is something the Cipher isn’t quite as sure of, mostly due to previous experiences. She gives her animal companion a brief glance.  
“I suppose you can try, but don’t expect much.”  
She kneels down and looks towards the owl the entire time.  
“Try to be nice. This is a good friend of mine.”

Menace gazes at Cierah as she speaks, but then turns sharply when a hand appears before him. He sits there, eyes widened as he surveys it skeptically. However, just like requested, he doesn’t actually try to bite or do anything drastic. Instead, as the fingers end up on his head, he closes his gaze rather pleasantly, giving Shara the chance to caress him softly.  
“See? I knew he would be nice.”

“Hmm, that rarely happens. Maybe he understands you’re still wounded. See what I mean with intelligent?”  
After they’re done with the bird, Cierah finds a chair to sit on and takes out a few pieces of snacks for Menace to munch on while she talks to Shara.  
“On a more serious note, how are you doing? I received information about the procedures you would have to endure, but I wasn’t sure how it would go. The Minister hasn’t really kept me updated either.”

There can be no doubt that Cierah knows Shara doesn’t want to talk about it but, they both also realize she will need to. Cierah deserves to know.  
Shara leans back on the bed, resting against a few thick pillows.  
“I’m not all too surprised. I believe he was concerned over the chance of success as well.  
Anyhow, I went through some quite drastic procedures, ones I would not wish to go into detail about, but let’s just say I am still on a lot of medication ever since. The rehabilitation has begun, but I’m far from the end.”  
Despite the hardship and pain of her current state, Shara manages another joyful expression.  
“The Minister did tell me of what you did, of course, and I can’t thank you enough. Without you, I might not be alive, or worse.”

Cierah shakes her head, leaning forward to put her hand over Shara’s once more.  
“No, don’t thank me. You owe me nothing, Shara. You made sure I survived through my few hellish years as a Cipher agent, and I would’ve failed without you. If it wasn’t for you, I’m not certain I could’ve coped with some of the madness we suffered at Intelligence’s fall.”

Shara snorts amusedly and nods.  
“That…was indeed a rather unbelievable time. I would prefer never to endure that again.  
But at least they’re gone now, right? No more Star Cabal and intense conspiracies against the Empire. Then again, there’s also no Imperial Intelligence to protect it anymore…”

“True”, Cierah responds, somewhat reluctantly. She wants to say more but, she’s unsure of how much Shara is ready to hear.

Around the same time, as their hands are intertwined, Shara gently strokes her thumb at the back of Cierah’s hand.  
“But enough about me. How are you doing? Even if I’ve been stuck in here without any chance of escape, I know the chaos on the outside still continues. Not only are we being hunted down by the Sith, but there’s a war raging between the two largest factions, along with a considerable number of smaller ones who probably wish to exploit both.”

Cierah takes a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts, before she sighs.  
“You’re not wrong. It’s a very difficult situation, on multiple levels, and I am quite intricately involved, perhaps more than I should be. I’ve come to realize that there are more sides than the Empire and the Republic.  
The whole story with the Cabal may be over, but backstabbing and conspiracies have not yet dispersed, Shara. They are as rampant as they’ve ever been. I’ve tried my best to tackle and counteract several, but sometimes I wonder how much more I can take.”  
She shuts her eye and tilts her head down.  
“I feel…overwhelmed at times, with how much is at stake. Despite all my resources and experience, there’s still so much that I cannot overcome or defeat. Often, it’s…lonely out there. Not because I don’t have a team, but there’s no one backing us up.  
I miss you, the Minister, Watcher Three and all the others. Without Imperial Intelligence, we have no safety net, nothing to protect us if we take the smallest misstep, nor many that we can trust. It’s both freeing and terrifying.”

It’s rare that she opens up like this, and while Shara is thankful, she’s also saddened. She squeezes Cierah’s hand in a comforting manner.  
“I understand, and I wish we could be there for you. Unfortunately, most of us are not in a state where we could do any good. Many are dead or captured, and those who remain outside of that are either injured or broken. The Minister have reached out to a lot of others, but they’ve given up. If the Sith do aim to rebuild their own Intelligence organization, it will never be the same.”

“I know.”  
Due to the gloomy nature of the conversation, it grows silent for a while, as they’re both unsure about all the issues that wear them down. It’s not a particularly surprising aspect either, as both of them are like this, focusing on the negative and worrying prospects of the future. Then again, perhaps that is why they interact so well.  
Wanting to at least make an attempt at redirecting their discussion, Cierah looks up again.  
“What do you intend to do now? There’s a few paths ahead after you get back on your feet and you need to choose the right one.”

Shara looks up as to let their gazes meet, but it’s not for long, as hers drift away.  
“I’m aware. My future is…uncertain, mostly because I’ve not yet had much time to consider it.  
Until recently, I have mostly been contemplating my health and whether I would actually be able to survive the operation. Now that there’s tangible alternatives available to me, I…hesitate.”  
She breathes in slowly and sighs briefly.  
“I will have to give it some more thought, before I can fully commit to anything.”

Cierah watches her, obviously extremely interested either way. It concerns her on a personal level, even if it’s not actually her choice.  
“I can see why. I also know that it’s not my place to tell you what to do, but if you want to, I can offer you my advice.”

No more than a year ago now, it was Shara who was giving the advice and Cierah’s only choice was to listen or possibly get herself killed. This situation is not as hectic, but no less important.  
“I don’t mind. Go ahead.”

“Get out of this madness while you can”, she says, as Shara watches her and raises an eyebrow questioningly.  
“It’s not good for you, Shara, and you don’t actually need to stay here either. You can safely find a way out and never have to care for any nonsense like this again. If I had that choice, I might’ve actually taken it.”

“What?”, Shara asks. “But don’t you, though? You don’t need to go anywhere or continue this chase. You can choose to depart at any time you please. You’re free now, not bound by any organizations or factions. Wasn’t that why you took the Black Codex for yourself?”

Cierah merely shakes her head, shoulders slumping.  
“Not from my point of view. It’s no more than wishful thinking. Maybe you disagree but, there’s just so many things that I’m involved with now. If I left without solving them, I…I’m not sure I could take it. I’d probably break. My only alternative is to continue delving deeper into the web of lies wrapped around me, whether I want to or not.”

Shara obviously looks disappointed, as both knew she would.  
“I suppose I understand.”  
What else can she do? It’s not really her choice, nor can she make it for Cierah. She has never been able to decide anything for the Cipher.  
“Your beliefs and words are important to me, and I will think about this, long and hard, before I make my choice. If you wish, I could tell you when I’ve made it.” 

Despite everything they’ve discussed thus far, Cierah manages to smile, even though it’s a rather tired one.  
“I’d like that. My holoprojector is always ready to receive your call.”

It does seem like the conversation is on its dying breath here, and Shara knows how busy Cierah likely is, but there are still certain things on her mind that she must mention. Elements that have drifted through her thoughts for too long.  
“I…still think about our time together, all those months ago.”  
She notices how Cierah suddenly grows tense. She’s usually pretty good at hiding her emotions, but this is a difficult topic.  
“Look, I know how you feel and I realize it’s foolish to mention it for all sorts of reasons but…I needed to tell you. You deserved to know.”

Cierah stays quiet for a few moments, trying to make up her mind whether this is a topic to pursue or not. More than half of her would likely say no, but she decides to ignore it.  
“So do I”, she answers tentatively, “but I can’t go into details. It’s not the time.”

“Do you ever…regret any of it?”

“No, I don’t, but there are other matters at play. Please, let’s not-…not now.”

Even if it makes her sad that they can’t talk about it, she realizes that she can’t push this.  
“Very well, I won’t inquire any further. It’s probably best to leave it in the past anyway.”

“Thank you.”  
Cierah stands up.  
“I should probably leave. There’s still much work to be done and they’re waiting for me back at the Warden.”

Shara nods at first, ready to let her go, but another thought enters her mind.  
“Oh, wait, before you go.”  
She turns around and leans over to the other side of her bed, out of view from the Cipher.  
“Prior to our escape, I managed to grab a few of my personal belongings. One of them was something specific that you might recognize.”

The item she’s shown is one that Cierah at first doesn’t really understand the significance of. It’s a normal white and grey-lined shirt, one that she believes is used by the Imperial military in their more casual environments. Why would that-  
Oh. Suddenly, she doesn’t just recognize it, but realizes its purpose.  
“Is that…the shirt I gave you?”

“Indeed, it is”, she says with a smile.  
“I’m glad you still remember it.”

Cierah views it skeptically. At least it’s clean, so Shara has cared for it, but she wouldn’t have believed it’d stick around for this long.  
“I’m surprised you still have it.”

Shara clears her throat, looking a little bit embarrassed.  
“Well…I suppose it was partially out of habit, but it has also become important to me. It’s…my lucky shirt. I used to wear it under my uniform.”

Despite how they both tried to move on, Cierah feels another shiver, one she doesn’t know the nature of. Should she be happy or worried?  
“I see. I’m glad you had some use for it, then.”

“Mm, I certainly had, but I have to stop pretending. This one belongs to you. Do you want it back?”

Cierah arches a skeptical brow.  
“What? Why would you ask me that?”

“While you may have given it to me, it is still yours. I feel bad for keeping it like this. If you want it again, I’ll give it to you.”

Cierah views the former Keeper, trying to read her expression, her eyes. There’s something in there, an ambiguous aspect.  
“I disagree. It was a gift that I gave to you. I can’t take it back.  
However, if you prefer to leave it with me, then I will. It’s all about what you want, not me.”

Shara opens her mouth to respond, but doesn’t have any immediate words. It appears Cierah understood the implicit intent and counteracted in the most efficient way possible. She’s torn, wanting to forget, but unable to commit.  
With a sigh, she pulls it back in and embraces it.  
“No. No, I…I wish to keep it.”

“Then it is yours, for as long as you want it.”

Once more, Cierah tries to leave, slowly strolling towards the door. She tries to prepare something before she reaches it, a few last words for her friend. Nothing really comes to mind, and perhaps a simple goodbye will be enough.  
That’s when she hears something behind her and how a hand ends up on her wrist.  
“Wait.”

Cierah stops, feeling herself being held. She could, and probably should, struggle at this time, but she doesn’t. Instead, she allows herself to be pulled back around.  
Once more, they face each other, with Shara standing there in nothing but some loose pants and a long-sleeved shirt. The former Keeper looks tired, distraught and insecure, as if she hasn’t slept for weeks, even though the truth is probably the opposite. Despite all this, there’s only one thing she wants, and she can’t let Cierah go before it happens.  
Seizing the Cipher’s waist, Shara pulls her in, closes her eyes and places her lips on top of Cierah’s. It initially surprises them both, but the other woman eventually accepts it, returning the gesture.

Moments drift by, with their bodies being interlocked in ways they haven’t been for quite some time now. It would be a lie to say that neither of them wished for it, or that it’s not mutual, but stirrings of doubt and fear still remain.  
Eventually, Shara gasps and takes step back, creating distance between them again. She raises her hands to cover her face out of embarrassment.  
“Shit. Dammit…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Cierah. I’m so damn stupid. I didn’t mean for…”  
She groans, almost in disgust.

However, it doesn’t linger, as she feels how Cierah takes her hands, removing them from their locations and makes the duo face one another once more. Shara watches her, seeing how Cierah’s own gaze is ambivalent and filled with hesitation.  
“There’s no need to apologize for how you feel, Shara. I won’t blame you…and perhaps I’m the one who has been foolish.”  
She leans closer and plants another kiss on the other woman, but this one on Shara’s cheek.  
“We will talk again soon, I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This used to be unrequited love but, Cierah's feelings have been changing since the time when she was still Cipher Nine._   
>  _Don't know if anyone cares but, yes, I'm gonna make Cierah address this situation with Jovana soon. Not in this particular fic (as there's just one chapter left), but soon._
> 
> _Next week, Zal'riva and Ktila in the last chapter. It's gonna be a bit more hectic than the fluffy one._


	71. And the stars shattered (SW + JK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Ready for this story's last chapter?_

A few days after Ktila’s arrival on the Tempest, the Jedi still remains, having not wanted to leave before she and Zal’riva could fully satisfy themselves. Both of them felt as if they were on the verge of having to separate for another longer period of time and therefore hoped to extend this stay as long as possible. Perhaps it was not just due to the fear, but also the fact that they could finally indulge their desires, when at least Ktila doesn’t have any official duties anymore.

Unfortunately, Zal is not as lucky and the galaxy continues to call for her services. Another ship, a cruiser called _The Blazing Pendulum_ , wanted to meet with her in the emptiness of space, to discuss strategies in the war. Despite her reluctance, Zal agreed and allowed them to pick an appropriate star system. To continue dismissing people would seem too suspicious.  
While she told Ktila it may be best to leave, Ktila didn’t want to have a hurried farewell. She suggested that she and her crew wait on the ship while Zal conducts her business. It’s not like they’re going to inspect the Tempest, right?

Having agreed to the chiss’ plan, due to being unable to argue with someone she loves, Zal told Vette to fly them to the correct destination. In the meantime, Ktila sent a message to the Shielded Path, instructing Scourge and T7 to move the ship to another system and wait while Zal speaks to the military commander. The Sith was hesitant in his response, but there wasn’t much he could do other than obey.

Once they arrive, the Tempest, being the smaller ship, flies through the entrance of the cruiser and lands inside one of its hangar bays. As they all feel a little bit uncomfortable regarding leaving Zal alone, Jaesa accompanies her on board, something she is obviously quite used to by now. It appears that this was a fairly reasonable choice as well, as the duo notices something curious once they enter the hangar.

“Hmm. It’s empty”, Zal comments. “Not a single soul.”

Jaesa is standing in a set of black robes, with her arms being exposed and her head mostly hidden under a hood.  
“Maybe they’re understaffed? The Republic aren’t the only ones who have suffered losses. They could be waiting for us on the bridge.”

Zal’s eyes sweep the area searchingly. She doesn’t sense anything through the Force, and yet her instincts are telling her that something isn’t right.  
“Perhaps. Let’s continue and see what we find.”

Without any aid or directions, the duo approaches one of the largest blast doors in the room and moves through it, assuming it will take them to the right destination. Luckily, they are correct, but they don’t get to come very far before they’re stopped.  
The corridor they have entered now is quite long and very wide. Along its length, there are several more doors to other rooms or pathways, all of them currently closed. The road here is fully lit, but eerily silent. On the far side, they see how someone comes into view, but not the type of person either expected. It is an individual in red armor, with long red robes attached to it and a helmet with a thin black visor. The armor is very familiar to Zal – it’s a member of the Dark Honor Guards, a division within the Imperial Guard.  
The guard holds a techstaff in one hand and raises the other towards the Sith.

“Halt!”, they hear in a commanding tone and yet fairly mild voice. “You will go no further.”

Zal follows the instructions for now, but places her hands at her hips, raising a brow skeptically.  
“Excuse me? I was expected. Who are you?”

“You are the one called Darth Zal’riva”, says the woman, with Zal and Jaesa not being sure whether it’s a statement or a question.

“That’s right, I am, though few people use that particular title. What is-“

The guard interrupts her.  
“You have indeed been expected, but not quite in this way. You have a companion. Are there any more?”

The question makes Zal frown and she does her best not to clench her fingers, as that would give her suspicion away.  
“No, it’s only the two of us. What is it? What’s going on here?”

“I’m sorry, my lord, but this is a necessary precaution. I hope you will understand.”

“Wha-“

Is all she manages to say, before the doors all around them suddenly activate and slides open. Imperial soldiers pour out from these routes, every single one of them armed with a blaster rifle. She can’t give any exact numbers, but Zal would guess it’s at least a hundred. Unfortunately, they are not the only opponents. At least ten Dark Honor Guards reveal themselves, and next to these people come four individuals – two humans and two purebloods – each of them igniting lightsabers. There can be no doubt that the duo is now fully surrounded.

“Well, well”, she starts, keeping her tone calm, “I had not quite expected this type of…welcoming committee.”

While she tries to remain confident, she won’t lie to herself. She is worried that this is not the sort of situation she can get out of with a fight. She’s tough, nigh unstoppable in propaganda, but far from invincible in reality.  
“It is unfortunate”, the same guard continues, “but we will have to ask you to stand down, my lord. Relinquish your weapon to us.”

Her hands are now clenched, and her gaze slowly travel across several of the individuals stationed around them. Each of them wear helmets, none wanting to look her directly in the eye, except for the four Sith.  
“Who gave this order? Who is responsible for this?”

“We cannot answer that question. Please, stand down, my lord, and relinquish your weapon. You will not be harmed.”

She snorts and raises her arms, folding them. She notices how a few of the soldiers display slight twitches as she does, which amuses her, but only briefly.  
“Is the Dark Council involved in this? Have they all come together to finally take me down? Quite a pitiful display, if they did.  
Or is this just a few Sith scheming against me?”

“We cannot answer that question. Please-“

It’s her turn to interrupt now, and she frowns at the same time, staring at the guard’s helmet.  
“Do you know who I am?”

“We do, my lord, but we are merely following orders.”

“I am the Emperor’s Wrath! I serve your master!”

The woman waits a couple of seconds before she responds, the air seemingly growing thicker during that time.  
“He may be yours, but he is not _our_ Emperor.”

Not their Emperor? That was the least expected response she’d receive. Zal figured that perhaps the Emperor’s Hand might’ve betrayed her, but they would never betray the Emperor. If these people do not work for them, then…who are they? And how come any Imperial Guards would ever betray their master? She didn’t think that was possible.  
For now, she merely snorts, keeping her cool.

“It is amusing that you would dare face the Wrath after all this time. Have you not heard what I am capable of?”

“We all have”, says a male pureblood, with shoulder-length brown hair and a heavy black-grey armor, standing slightly behind this Imperial Guard.  
“And to be honest, we are rather excited at the prospect of fighting you. With these kinds of numbers, it would be far from even. You have bested difficult odds before, but not of this kind.”

The guard glances sideways.  
“We are not here to fight Lord Wrath, only capture her. Remember that.”

The Sith sighs and rolls his eyes.  
“Yes, yes, fine.”

Of course, not only Zal is kept under watch during the proceedings, as several guns are aimed at Jaesa as well. People have heard how skilled the Wrath’s former apprentice is too, and these people obviously don’t wish to underestimate her. For this reason, she does not act yet, not until Zal does, and they both try to think where they could go from here.  
From a certain perspective, the arrogant Sith had a point – there are a lot of them. With such overwhelming opposition, it would not be smart to simply leap into combat. In most circumstances, Zal would contemplate surrender here, but this situation is too peculiar for that. Not only would she put her girlfriend, Jaesa, Kira and Vette at risk, there’s also so many questions on her mind. Who will she be surrendering to, if she gives in to these people? Who is their master?

Before she can even fully contemplate how to act, she feels a rather unexpected sensation. Power materializes around her, impossible for anyone but a Force user to actually see, but it’s definitely enough for her to be surprised. At first, she believes that it’s going to try to capture her, which she would struggle against, but she’s mistaken. Instead, it forms a kind of protective barrier, shielding her from harm.  
In reaction to this, she reaches out with her mind, trying to locate a specific presence, and she finds it. Ktila and Kira are somewhere in the area, and they’re helping her out, giving her a chance to strike.

With an excited grin, she slams one of her fists into the palm of the other hand, immediately gathering power.  
“Alright then, let’s do this!”

Most weapons are aimed towards her and the Imperial Guard raises her arm again.  
“My lord, please, be reasonable! We do not-“

The soldiers do not wait, however, for as soon she leaps into the air, they shoot. Blaster fire fills the area with both flashing lights and noises, trying to destroy the Sith. Luckily, all they actually hit are the Force barrier protecting Zal.  
In the meantime, the twi’lek lands on the ground and slams her fist into it. The pent-up energy she collected now explode, shooting out a shockwave through the corridor, which sends virtually all of the soldiers flying backwards, even the Imperial Guards. Only the four Sith remain standing, although they stumble at first, trying to regain their footing. This is the power of the one they know as the Emperor’s Wrath.

Quickly getting back on her feet, Zal raises her hand and telekinetically calls her lightsaber to her hand. In the same motion, she has already started to run and by imbuing her speed with the Force, she charges through the air and tackles the first Sith she reaches. It’s the same one who mouthed off to her earlier and he tries to block her with his own weapon, gritting his teeth.  
“You…you think you can take us all?!”, he asks.

“I don’t know, but it will be a fun challenge, don’t you agree?”  
Shortly after, she knees him in the stomach, backhands him in the face and pierces his back with her lightsaber. As soon as he falls, she discards him and instead redirects her attention to the other three Sith, who try to surround her.

During this time, Zal’s comrades have not sat idly be. Jaesa may have had to protect herself from her master’s shockwave, due to it being rather carelessly distributed, but Ktila and Kira were both hiding behind a wall at the time and were unburdened by it. While the younger Lord tries to steady herself, Ktila and Kira comes running – the former with two lightsabers and the latter with a single dual-bladed one – aiming their attacks at the direst threat from the opposite side, the Dark Honor Guards. These trained killers were trying to strike at Jaesa, but instead, they are forced into combat with a Master and Knight. Jaesa herself seems thankful for this aid, and unsheathes her own weapon in order to take care of the soldiers. 

Ktila is a particularly spectacular sight in battle, moving with such speed that it is unmatched by the rest of the team. She can take on several opponents at once, not through pure strength, but by overwhelming them with fast attacks, moving too quickly for them to react.  
Due to this surge, it appears that they are shocked by what they see. Not only is it something with the energies around her, but the clothes and weapons make it obvious that something is amiss.

“J-Jedi!”, one of the Dark Honor Guards exclaim. “The Wrath is working with Jedi!”

Ktila snorts and rolls her eyes.  
“Not anymore, actually. Sorry to disappoint.”

On the end of the tunnel, Zal is still fighting the Sith, providing more than a match for any of their tricks. She is a dangerous opponent for many reasons, not the least her very unorthodox style. She doesn’t really use any specific ‘lightsaber forms’ that Jedi and Sith get trained in, as she has always been more of a brawler. She employs brute strength and is more likely to wrestle or punch her opponents, rather than try to disarm them with her own weapon.  
This shows when all three try to launch an attack on her, and while she parries the strikes of the first, she evades the attempts from the second, grabs one of their arms and tosses their body into the third. As the first one goes for another flurry of lightsaber strikes, she uses the Force to unbalance them, counterattacks and when an opportunity reveals itself, she lunges forward and headbutts them, letting the Sith get her headband right on their nose. They emit an agonized cry, as blood falls to the ground.

Ktila and Kira are almost on the opposite end of Zal, as they pretty much only fight with their weapons, sometimes infusing their speed and agility with the Force. However, they do not utilize forms in the same way as other Jedi either, not when they’re together. Instead, they have honed a particular joint technique, where both of them leap from opponent to opponent, striking once or twice, before switching places, constantly spinning around and trying to flank their opponents when they least expect it. The fact that neither wields just one blade helps with this customized style. The Dark Honor Guards are quickly becoming aware that they are not facing any normal Jedi at this point. 

The one who has the most amount of trouble to begin with, is Jaesa. She is not the only one fighting against the large number of soldiers, of course, as these squads spread out to aid their superiors, but the vast majority have attempted to focus on Jaesa. She spins her weapon around constantly, blocking shots and sometimes reflecting them back to their user, like some kind of tornado of blaster fire. It cannot last forever, though, and when she takes some damage, her own ability decreases. 

Thankfully, she is not alone.  
“Jae, now!”

She hears the voice and widens her eyes in surprise, but realizes what it means. Quickly kneeling to the ground and creating a temporary barrier around herself, she shuts her gaze, waiting for what’s to come.  
The soldiers don’t understand her choice, not at first anyway. This quickly changes when two canisters land on the ground. They have no more than a second to react, until the flash grenades erupt, blinding almost all of the soldiers currently engaged in combat with Jaesa. 

Immediately after this, a rain of blaster fire comes from the entrance leading into the hangar bay, hitting a whole range of soldiers, before they get a chance to take cover. When Jaesa gets the opportunity to stand up, she sees the grinning face of a familiar person.  
“Vette!”, she exclaims while smiling.

The twi’lek winks at her.  
“Hey, gorgeous. Mind if I join the party?”

“You know I never do!”

“Then let’s show ‘em why you don’t mess with the Tempest!”

Despite being so vastly outnumbered, none of these troops were truly ready for the kind of opposition that this team would pose. They probably expected an easier battle, although they were also only prepared to fight the Wrath, perhaps one or two more opponents at most. Facing four powerful Force users and one very talented gunslinger is not really what they signed up for.  
It takes only a few more minutes until the fight is finally over and the corridor once more goes silent. 

The last sound of the battle is from Vette, putting down a particularly defiant Imperial Guard with her gun. Not every single person lies dead, however. Jaesa and the Jedi in particular chose to knock out several of the soldiers, or allowed them to surrender. None of the three Sith, nor the Imperial Guards, chose this outcome. As everyone may have anticipated, they preferred death before defeat.  
Zal returns to her comrades, giving each of them a quick gaze.  
“Are you alright?”  
She stops by Ktila, lifting a hand to caress the chiss’ cheek.  
“No injuries, I hope?”

Ktila smiles at her, raising her own hand to envelop Zal’s fingers, now that they have both sheathed their weapons.  
“Nothing serious. You didn’t think I’d be defeated that easily, did you?”

“Tsk. Doesn’t mean I don’t worry.”

Further away, Kira is clutching her side, while Jaesa is limping somewhat. Vette waves over to the other twi’lek.  
“My girls took a couple of hits, but I’ll take care of them. I brought kolto.” 

Zal nods curtly and then redirects her attention to the surviving soldiers. She decides to focus on one of them, a young fair-skinned human with black hair who sits on the ground. She stops in front of him, noticing that he winces at her approach, but that doesn’t deter her. She leans down, grabs the top of his shirt and lifts him up, pushing him against the wall.  
“Listen you me, you little gnat. I want answers, and I want them _now_.”

He’s shaking, lifting his arms into the air.  
“Y-yes, my lord! I…I’ll tell you anything you want!”

He sounds absolutely terrified and she can’t really blame him. That’s kind of the result she’s going for.  
“Who sent you here? Who ordered this attack?”

“D-Darth Malgus! He’s the one responsible!”

Zal’s expression changes to surprise very quickly.  
“Malgus? Why would he do this? What’s his goal?”

The soldier swallows before he nudges his head towards one of the nearby consoles in the adjacent room.  
“C-check the console. There’s a file with…with a message that is supposed to be sent out across the galaxy today.”

Zal looks at Ktila, and the chiss nods.  
“I’m on it.”  
She isn’t the most technologically adept, but she knows how to operate the basics of this type of terminal. She browses rather swiftly through a lot of stuff, sections that she finds uninteresting, until she arrives at the ones sent by Malgus.  
“There’s a newly received one here, a broadcast. It’s going to be distributed in about an hour to…”  
She widens her eyes.  
“To the rest of the galaxy? Recipients include all of the Dark Council, the Republic Senate, the Hutt Cartel…and many more.”

With each word, Zal’s frown deepens.  
“Can you play it?”

“Yes, give me a second.”

She pushes in a few commands, until a small hologram is activated. On it, the whole group can see the shape of Darth Malgus appearing, standing with his arms behind his back. From his stance and expression, they somehow get the impression that he’s about to hold a speech rather than send out a simple message. Unfortunately, this assumption is more correct than they might’ve hoped.

“Fellow Sith, citizens of the Empire and the galaxy at large – I am Darth Malgus. Most of you likely know of me as the head for the Sphere of Military Offense, while others are more familiar with my long history and accomplishments with the military, fighting in various conflicts and leading armies. Today, I am here for a similar and yet different reason.  
For a long time, like a lot of you, I’ve merely watched the Dark Council from the outside, criticized its actions and felt, like a majority of our brave soldiers, that most of the blame for why our plans went awry could be put squarely at the feet of our leaders.  
Now that I have finally witnessed and experienced the situation from inside the Dark Council itself, I can tell you, without hesitation, that the incompetence and inadequacy within this institution is much worse than any of you have feared. It is my firm belief that the Council is the true cause for why the Empire is so crippled.”

He stops for a moment, probably trying to gather himself or at least allow those who view the message to take in everything that he has said. In the meantime, Zal drops the soldier, letting him scurry back to where he was, and she walks to stand next to Ktila. Both of them are fully focused on the message. 

“With our Emperor being absent and becoming virtually completely silent”, he eventually continues, “or possibly even dead, a new path is required for our nation. It stands abundantly clear, from all I’ve seen, that the Dark Council will not be able to provide this new direction.  
You may ask yourselves, why would I say such a thing? Why would there be no opportunity to give them a chance to prove themselves? The answer is simple; they have already had a multitude of occasions to do so and _failed_ every time. Constantly, they are torn apart from the inside, by ambitions and opposing demands, fighting each other rather than the enemy.  
The Council consists of nothing more than cowards, fools and political power plays. We shall tolerate their idiocy no longer.”

Given another brief moment to breath, Zal feels how Ktila gazes at her, possibly studying her reaction, but Zal can’t respond to it yet. She needs to hear it all, to determine what kind of nonsense this is supposed to be. Although, nonsense is likely the least appropriate term for this broadcast. A revolution, perhaps?

He resumes soon after.  
“The true path of the Sith, the Code which we have tried to elevate as the only acceptable philosophy, has been forgotten; not just by the Council, but by the Emperor as well.  
And at this point you may wonder, why would I criticize our Emperor, our wise and majestic master? Because he no longer cares.  
He left us behind many years ago, forgot who we truly are. It has been ages since the Emperor actually comprehended the extent to where Sith can go if we embrace our very nature. Why else would he have made peace with the Republic, hmm? Why would he not have stormed our enemies’ sanctum and demanded revenge centuries ago?  
The truth is apparent to all of you; he is a fool, unworthy of our worship, just as much as the Dark Council, and in the end, none of them are needed.”

If Zal had suspected any other major Sith, like the Council, to be involved, all such emotions now evaporate. It’s pretty clear to her that Malgus must have acted alone. Or at least, not with any agreement from the rest, or he would not be staging this broadcast. Although, after it’s sent out, who can say for sure if he will still be without support?

His voice can soon be heard again.  
“As our two foremost leadership institutions have failed you all, I stand before you today to present you with an alternative and I will provide exactly what you require.  
At this time, I have control of several vital imperial fleets, including a stealth-based one which was in development on Ilum. Several powerful Sith have already joined me and I have allies from outside the Empire, including the Hutt Cartel and many Mandalorian clans. But I do not stop there.”  
He reaches out with his hand in a welcoming gesture.  
“I extend this offer to all Sith, imperials, warriors and anyone who wishes to have true freedom from inhibitions and the right to follow our passions.  
I promise you conquest, victory and a purpose beyond what any worthless close-minded government can offer elsewhere. Cast aside your incapable leaders and instead take up arms beside me, as I will be commanding from the front, just like a true leader should.  
Imperial or Republic, human or alien, Force user or Force blind – it does not matter. The New Empire welcomes all warriors of the galaxy!”

Just as his hologram disappears, a brief text appears afterwards, saying ‘Long Live Emperor Malgus!’ and then the message ends.  
Once it is finished, the corridor has descended into silence, the entire team trying to absorb the information they were just given. The bad feeling Zal sensed when she entered is now fiercer than ever, but could she ever have predicted this? She was afraid there might be some kind of conspiracy, not someone staging a rebellion. Or what is this, really? What is Malgus goal? What does he want?

“So, what do we do now?”, Ktila asks, while looking at Zal.

The twi’lek takes a deep breath, putting a hand on the terminal to steady herself and shakes her head.  
“I don’t know what kind of madness has befallen Malgus, but at least I know who is responsible now. I will get you back to the Shielded Path, Ktila, and then I will have to move, swiftly. The Empire needs me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, cliffhanger...ish, I guess? If you read Through passion's gateways, you obviously recognize that last segment._   
>  _I'm not sure how obvious it is, but the name for this fic, "The precipice of division", was from the very beginning a reference to this specific event, where Malgus creates the New Empire._
> 
> _The stories of this fic and TPG will converge in a joint follow-up fic, which arrives in two weeks, on Wednesday the 1st. On Saturday, I'm writing a chapter to another story, and the entirety of next week will be dedicated to one specific fic that I've wanted to write for a while. It is also SWTOR related, although has nothing to do with any of my Sith or Jedi._
> 
> _Anyway, thanks to everyone who read, gave kudos and commented on this story! I always appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed the fic, even if it was sort of a mess most of the time._


End file.
